DEFENCE

Iraq

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is towards the commitment of British forces to long-term peacekeeping missions in urban areas in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: We have made it clear that we are committed to help the Iraqi people rebuild their country once Saddam Hussein's regime is removed from power. We envisage that United Kingdom forces will help to provide a safe and secure environment to allow the renewal effort to begin.

Iraq

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to secure the Iraq/Iran border.

Geoff Hoon: The area in Southern Iraq in which United Kingdom forces are operating includes a significant segment of the Iraq/Iran border. UK forces are responsible for ensuring the security of the whole of the area under their control. I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government is making every effort to liaise closely with the Iranian authorities to reduce the scope for any potential misunderstandings. We see no need to take special measures relating to the security of the Iraq/Iran border.

Iraq

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on Iraq.

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on the military situation in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave a short while ago to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dudley, North (Mr. Cranston), my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Mr. Taylor) and the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady).

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) soldiers from British Overseas Territories and (b) Gibraltarians are deployed in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: Details of the number of soldiers from the British Overseas Territories and Gibraltarians are deployed in Iraq are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), of 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 450W, on Iraq, how much of the money was spent on munitions.

Adam Ingram: The costs identified in my earlier answer are only the net additional costs the Department has incurred. Operational costs are recorded only when normal rates of peacetime activity and consumption are exceeded. As a result figures do not record the cost of all munitions used, only those expended in excess of normal requirements. However, centrally held records do not identify separately the additional costs of munitions consumed.

Iraq

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the logistic support required to sustain British forces in the Gulf region.

Adam Ingram: The massive logistic effort, involving many of the 28,000 civilian and military personnel in the Defence Logistics Organisation and around 5,000 personnel in theatre, in support of United Kingdom armed forces operations in the Gulf, and the build up to it, has been extremely successful. The size of this task has been considerable; we have deployed an equivalent quantity of materiel to that supplied for the last Gulf conflict in half the time. This has ranged from some 13,000 tonnes of ammunition and over 15,000 vehicles, to 2.5 million operational ration packs. This level of logistic support is being maintained, including delivery of about 2,000 bags of mail per day totalling over 185 tonnes so far.

Iraq

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received about delays to mail from UK forces in Iraq to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I have received no representations about delays to mail from United Kingdom forces in Iraq. On the wider question of mail services between UK and the Gulf area, I have received a large number of enquires from hon. Members and from the general public about services available. The British Forces Post Office is despatching and receiving mail regularly and there are no delays. Naturally, it is more difficult to arrange collection and delivery of mail to deployed units, many of which are moving rapidly across Iraq.

Iraq

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hot meals a day soldiers in the Gulf conflict are receiving.

Adam Ingram: Personnel who have moved forward into Iraq are currently on Operational Ration Packs. These provide for two hot meals and one cold meal, plus snacks, per day. Similarly, personnel in the camps in Gulf have access to at least two hot meals a day.

Iraq

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many women from each of the British armed forces are taking part in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 27 March 2003
	As of 28 March 2003, there were 2,966 women serving with all three services in support of Operation TELIC. The figures by service are not available. Of these, 2,690 were serving in the Arabian Peninsular and 276 are in Cyprus.

Iraq

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Iraqi defections.

Geoff Hoon: There have so far been no 'defections' of very senior politicians or military commanders to the coalition.
	The coalition is, however, currently holding over 8,000 prisoners of war, many of whom have surrendered.

Iraq

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his working relationship with the media during the conflict with Iraq.

Lewis Moonie: The working relationship between the Ministry of Defence and the media during times of conflict or war is covered in detail in the Green Book—"Working Arrangements with the Media in times of Emergency, Tension, Conflict or War".
	In the United Kingdom, we have provided the media with briefings by Ministers, officials and military officers, and arranged facilities to demonstrate our capabilities. In theatre, we have established a media information service at the Coalition Headquarters. We have also compiled a media pool of 128 accredited UK war correspondents who are now embedded with our forces in the Gulf.
	While it is inevitable that at times the relationship is bound to be tested, overall the new arrangements appear to be working very well for both parties.

Iraq

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on military co-ordination of humanitarian aid in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: Coalition forces are taking the utmost care to minimise the effects of conflict on the Iraqi people. However, there is an urgent need for humanitarian relief, not least because of damage and neglect during the long years of Saddam Hussein's misrule.
	United Kingdom forces will, where they are able, deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq until the post-conflict security situation is stable enough for civilian aid agencies to deploy. The Government have allocated up to £30 million to United Kingdom Forces to provide this immediate assistance.
	In due course, the intention is that responsibility for humanitarian provision should be transferred to civilian aid agencies, however, assistance provided so far by UK forces has included drinking water, food, shelter, and medical supplies. Supplies have been delivered both overland from Kuwait, and through the deep port at Umm Qasr.

European Security and Defence Policy

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, If he will make a statement on the future of the European Security and Defence Policy.

Geoff Hoon: We continue to make progress in developing the European Security and Defence European Union agreed Policy. Earlier this month, NATO and the arrangements, known as "Berlin Plus", giving the EU ready access to the Alliance's common assets and capabilities for operations. As a consequence, the EU is now able to launch its first military mission in Macedonia, taking over from the NATO operation "Allied Harmony" today. This is a tangible demonstration of the strategic partnership between the two organisations and of the EU's determination to strengthen its ability to undertake crisis management operations. We also continue to make progress on improving European military capabilities and are actively engaged in the debate on the future of the ESDP in the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Army Deployment

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Army is deployed or warned to deploy on operations.

Adam Ingram: Around 57 per cent. of the Army are currently deployed and between four to five per cent. are preparing to deploy on Operations.

Troop Replacement (Gulf)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to replace units currently engaged in the Gulf.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South (Mr. Cunningham).

Aircraft Carriers

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it will be possible to adapt either of the two new aircraft carriers so as to make them interoperable with the Rafale aircraft.

Adam Ingram: As we announced on 30 September 2002, the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers will be configured to operate the STOVL version of the Joint Strike Fighter rather than a conventionally launched aircraft such as Rafale. The vessels will, however, be constructed to an adaptable design, which will allow us, if we so decide in the future, to modify the vessels from their original STOVL configuration to facilitate conventional flight operations.
	Although it might be technically possible to build the vessels so that they could operate STOVL-JSF and conventional carrier aircraft simultaneously, we assess that this could not viably or safely be achieved without substantial revision of the basic design. This would impact on construction and through life operations, as well as affordability.

Armed Forces

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the effect of a declaration of war is on the (a) pay, (b) taxation and (c) legal liability of armed forces personnel.

Lewis Moonie: The declaration of war has no effect on the pay or taxation of armed forces personnel. In the event of a fatality, the only tax issue affected is the estate of the deceased member of the armed forces of the Crown, which may qualify for an exemption from inheritance tax under section 154 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984. The presence or absence of a declaration of war does not have any effect on the legal position of armed forces personnel. Once a state of armed conflict exists, international humanitarian law applies to the conduct of the campaign.

Colombia

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether UK military liaison teams provided (a) advice and (b) assistance to the Colombian armed forces during 2002; and what plans there are to do so this year.

Adam Ingram: There have been occasions when we have sent military liaison teams to Colombia to provide advice and training assistance. The nature of this advice and assistance is confidential between governments and I am withholding the details under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which covers information whose disclosure would be harmful to national security, defence or international relations. The uncertainties regarding military deployment as a result of Operation TELIC make forward planning for this type of assistance this year impossible at present.

Departmental Creche Facilities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what crèche facilities are provided by his Department and at what cost.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence provides the following child care support for its civilian and military employees:
	45 work place nurseries offering 1,700 full day care places for children aged three months to five years. (Three new nurseries were opened during 2002–03 at Northwood, Andover and Ensleigh Bath).
	36 crèches (benefiting 700 children) providing occasional care and 70 pre schools (benefiting over 2,000 children) providing education on a sessional basis, primarily for Service families.
	14 wrap-around care schemes for 5–12 year olds (benefiting 350 children) providing after school care to match the working day.
	15 holiday play schemes providing full day care for 5–12 year olds during school holidays (three are shared with other Government Departments) benefiting 550 children.
	Two child care voucher schemes: for civilian employees in Glasgow and a new scheme for Defence Science and Technology Laboratory staff, which started May 2002. (The schemes benefit over 18 parents).
	Within MOD responsibility for child care is delegated to the main budget areas. Initial funding can be from a variety of sources: the central budget allocation, MOD's grant from the Civil Service Modernisation fund (£900,000 in FY2000–01 and FY 2001–02 only), local authorities, benevolent funds or raised by the parents themselves. The business case then determines how much direct or indirect subsidy the MOD gives.
	MOD nurseries are usually run by contractors, as commercial enterprises. They frequently receive indirect subsidies in the form of a peppercorn rent. In addition about 10 per cent. of the nurseries offer direct subsidies, which can reduce the fees by around a third. Some play schemes also receive direct subsidies. MOD's two voucher schemes provide employees with about a third of actual costs for the registered care of their choice at a cost of some £16,000 a month.
	No further information regarding the MOD's contribution towards the costs of child care schemes is held centrally and it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Gulf Forces (Equipment)

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of (a) boots and (b) protection goggles to members of the armed forces who are stationed in the Gulf.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 March 2003
	There are sufficient quantities of both desert boots and protection goggles available for all personnel expected to fulfil a combat role in the Gulf.

Gulf War Veterans

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will encourage the Trustees of the Gulf Trust Fund to make payments of (a) capital and (b) income to civilian Gulf War veterans.

Lewis Moonie: The Gulf Trust was set up on 12 February 1991 to meet the financial needs arising out of the engagement of the British Armed Forces and civilian personnel attached to or accompanying British Armed Forces in military and other operations relating to or in connection with the 1990–1991 Gulf conflict. The Gulf Trust was administered independently of the Ministry of Defence in accordance with Charity Law by the United Services Trustee. The fund was closed on 31 July 1994 at which point the remaining money in the fund was distributed on a pro-rata basis to the three Service Benevolent Funds. It would be inappropriate for the Ministry of Defence to intervene in any issues concerning disbursements of funds raised by the Gulf Trust. All enquiries, representations, applications for financial assistance or questions regarding the administration of funds raised by the Gulf Trust, should be directed as follows:
	RN, RM, and RFA personnel and all other sea-borne civilians:
	King George's Fund for Sailors
	8 Hatherley Street
	London
	SW1P 2YY
	Army personnel and all other civilians:
	The Army Benevolent Fund
	41 Queens Gate
	South Kensington
	London
	SW7 5HR RAF personnel:
	The RAF Benevolent Fund
	67 Portland Place
	London
	W1N4AR

Kosovo

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel are serving in Kosovo.

Adam Ingram: As at 21 March 2003 there were 1,264 United Kingdom Service Personnel serving in Kosovo.

Middle East

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent since the end of hostilities of the Gulf War in 1991 by Her Majesty's Government on operations in the Middle East in each year since 1991, broken down by each of the armed services.

Adam Ingram: The Department identifies the costs of Operations in terms of the net additional costs it has incurred. The costs which the Department would have incurred had the operation not been undertaken—expenditure on wages and salaries or on conducting training exercises for example—are deducted from the total costs of the operation. The information requested is as follows:
	
		£ million
		
			 Year Costs of operations 
		
		
			 1992–93 551 
			 1993–94 179 
			 1994–95 58 
			 1995–96 14 
			 1996–97 6 
			 1997–98 16 
			 1998–99 35 
			 1999–2000 28 
			 2000–01 25 
			 2001–02 (1)61 
			 2002–03(2) (1),(2)1,045 
		
	
	(1) Denotes figure calculated on a full resource cost basis; all previous figures are cash-based.
	(2) Estimate
	(3) Includes £1,000 million for operations against Iraq.
	This information cannot be sub-divided into costs for each of the services. Costs are reported by Top Level budget holders. None of these are single-service organisations.

Ministry Building

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which company is providing the doors for the refurbishment of the main MOD building; what types of wood will be used in their manufacture; and what efforts have been made to ensure that the timber used is being sourced from legal and sustainable sources.

Lewis Moonie: Contracts have been awarded for the supply of doors in the refurbished Main Building as follows:
	Swift Horsman. Timber doors made from American White Oak. PFI Contractor Skanska United Kingdom has paid a premium for a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified chain of custody.
	Stafford Bridge Doors. The frames, lippings and veneers of which are made from American White Oak. Cores are Ghanaian Celtis finger jointed off-cuts. The American White Oak originates from a FSC certified custody chain and the larger frames come from North American sustainable forests. Ghana is a member of International Tropical Timber Organisation with certification that the products are from a Sustained Yield Management system.

Nimrod Patrol Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the fleet of 18 Nimrod MRA.4 Maritime Patrol Aircraft will be operational; why these have been delayed; how much the aircraft will cost; how much they were originally expected to cost; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: My noble Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (Lord Bach) announced in another place on 19 February 2003, Official Report, columns 175–77W, that, as a result of the recent agreement with BAE SYSTEMS to restructure the Nimrod MRA4 contract, the revised in-service date is 2009. This is now defined as the delivery of the sixth series production aircraft. The balance of the 18 aircraft fleet is envisaged to be delivered during the subsequent period to mid 2011. The reasons for the delay are those that are indicated by the reply my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Moonie) gave to the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer) on 10 December 2002, Official Report, columns 222–23W. The Agreement with BAE SYSTEMS recognises the delays that have occurred on this programme by deferring the start of series production of later aircraft until we have seen demonstrated performance from the first three flight trials aircraft. When an appropriate level of design maturity has been reached (and we envisage this to be in late 2005), we will then be in a position to finalise the negotiations with the Company over the production price of the remaining number of aircraft. As my hon. Friend also indicated in his statement of 19 February, the MOD has agreed to make a contribution to this restructured programme of an additional £270 million. Subject to on-going negotiations, this increase therefore brings the expected contract value to some £2,600 million at current prices. I have nothing further to add to the statement made by my hon. Friend on 19 February 2003.

Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office about the establishment of a UDR Fund to recognise and support the widows and families of soldiers serving with the Ulster Defence Regiment who were murdered by terrorists in Northern Ireland.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence has, to date, had no formal discussions with the Northern Ireland Office about this issue. However I did meet with representatives from the UDR widows and widowers on 5 March 2003. This matter is being considered, although the Department is not yet in a position to make a decision on the way ahead.

SA80

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on problems with the SA80 in the conflict in the Gulf; and what steps are being taken to overcome such problems.

Adam Ingram: Hot and dusty environments—such as those pertaining in the Gulf area—are the most demanding in which to operate small arms of any kind. The new cleaning regime introduced for the modified SA80 is minimising the effects of the harsh environmental conditions. Units have expressed confidence in the modified SA80, and its performance during operations in Iraq thus far has demonstrated that it is one of the most reliable weapons in its class.

Service Personnel

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the facilities available for families to communicate with service personnel by television.

Adam Ingram: The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) is produced by the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) under contract to the Ministry of Defence and provides radio and television services to most locations overseas where significant numbers of British forces are permanently stationed and, subject to practicality, to operational theatres.
	Two channels of BFBS TV, plus BBC News 24 and Sky News, are transmitted continuously from the UK to a satellite covering the Greater European and middle east operational areas. The signal is distributed to 55 locations in Kuwait and from 27 March to parts of southern Iraq. BFBS TV is therefore available live at all major UK military locations in the middle east, as well as to RN andRFA ships in the area.
	BFBS TV film messages from both service personnel in the Gulf and their families in the UK and Germany, and transmit these as "fillers" between TV programmes in lieu of the more usual community and welfare announcements. BFBS has a 'tie-in' with ITV's flagship programme "This Morning" (which is retransmitted on BFBS) which also provides a chance for families to see video messages from their people on operational duty. BFBS TV also communicates to the Forces via a daily news magazine programme, 'BFBS Reports' which goes out across the BFBS network.

Student Reservists

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether university student reservists called up to serve in the Gulf will be required to pay back the additional year's student loan that they may have to take out; and if he will make a statement.

Lewis Moonie: holding answer 27 March 2003
	Reservists who are full-time university students may apply to have their call-out notices revoked or deferred. Details on how to make such applications are given at the time call-out notices are served. The situation referred to in the question is unlikely, therefore, to arise.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Pollution

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been made available by her Department to tackle air pollution in Buckinghamshire in 2002–03.

Alun Michael: The Department wrote to local authorities in England on 14 February last year inviting applications for Supplementary Credit Approvals to support proposals for capital expenditure in 2002–03 on their air quality management duties under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995. Milton Keynes was the only authority in Buckinghamshire to apply, and £30,000 in additional borrowing powers has been awarded. Since 1997/98 the Government's annual revenue support grant settlement has included provision to support local authorities running costs associated with these duties.

Air Pollution

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many days of (a) moderate, (b) high and (c) very high air pollution there were (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in Buckinghamshire in 2002; and if she will make a statement on the suspected causes of high and very high readings.

Alun Michael: Air quality is now a devolved matter therefore my reply focuses on England. According to data provided by the Automatic Urban and Rural monitoring Network (AURN), the number of days air pollution at at least one AURN sites in England in 2002 was:
	(a) moderate: 194.
	(b) high: 25.
	(c) very high: 4.
	Very high readings were all related to particles (PM10). Of the 25 high readings, two were related to sulphur dioxide (SO2), four were related to ozone and the remaining 19 were all related to particles (PM10). Meteorological conditions also affects the level of all pollutants.
	There is no AURN site in Buckinghamshire but all local authorities, including in Buckinghamshire, have a statutory duty under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess the local air quality in their area against the national air quality objectives. I have provided information on the five local authorities in Buckinghamshire in PQ 106012.

Air Pollution

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the air quality strategy.

Alun Michael: The Government and Devolved Administrations' air quality policies are set out in detail in the air quality strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, published in January 2000. An Addendum to the strategy was published in February 2003. The strategy and addendum can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/index.htm.
	The strategy sets objectives for nine main air pollutants to protect human health and two objectives to protect vegetation and ecosystems. The air pollutants covered by the strategy are benzene; 1,3-butadiene; carbon monoxide; lead; nitrogen dioxide; particles (PM10); ozone; sulphur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
	The Government and devolved Administrations monitor progress to meeting the objectives in the strategy through the national air quality monitoring network, which consists of over 1,500 sites. Over 120 of these sites are sophisticated, real-time monitors from which information is available hour-by-hour, 24 hours a day, via a dedicated website: www.airquality.co.uk.
	Air quality monitoring indicates that we are on course or have already met objectives for six of the nine pollutants in England, namely benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead, sulphur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This is as a result of the measures that have been implemented over the last decade or so.
	Additional measures are likely to be needed if we are to meet the nitrogen dioxide and particles objectives in certain parts of England. We are considering those in the context of the delivery of our DEFRA/DfT joint Air Quality Public Service Agreement. We are also expecting to exceed the ozone objective in parts of southern England. However we believe that internationally agreed measures are the most effective ways to tackling this pollutant as ground level ozone concentrations in southern England are influenced largely by transboundary pollution. The UK will play a key role in seeking further agreements on international measures.

Air Pollution

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in Buckinghamshire towards meeting the National Air Quality Strategy targets.

Alun Michael: Local authorities have a statutory duty under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 to review and assess the local air quality in their area against the national air quality objectives for seven of the pollutants prescribed in regulations for the purpose of local air quality management. Where it is likely that the air quality objectives will not be met by the relevant deadline, the local authority must designate an air quality management area and produce an action plan setting out the measures they intend to implement to work towards meeting the air quality objectives.
	Of the five local authorities in the Buckinghamshire region (Milton Keynes, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Buckinghamshire District Council and Wycombe District Council), only one authority (Wycombe District Council) has declared an air quality management area along the M40 motorway due to predicted exceedences of the annual mean Nitrogen Dioxide objective. Wycombe District Council has produced an action plan which has been appraised by my Department. Wycombe will now have to work with the Highways Agency and other stakeholders to look to implement the most cost-effective and proportionate measures to improve the local air quality within the area affected by the M40.

Coastal Erosion (Norfolk)

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risk to the Norfolk Broads as a result of coastal erosion in the Happisburgh area.

Margaret Beckett: Responsibility for assessing such risks rests with the local operating authorities. The Environment Agency has sea defence responsibility for the length of coastline from Cart Gap, Eccles to Winterton, which fronts the low lying hinterland including the Norfolk Broads. North Norfolk district council has coast protection responsibility for the cliffs at Happisburgh. There is some concern abut the risk of a breach in the frontage at Cart Gap as a result of cliff erosion, but both operating authorities judge that such a risk is not expected for at least 15 to 20 years. Both authorities are keeping the position under review, and the Council monitors the rate of erosion monthly.

Departmental Catering Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of (a) the in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by the Department in 2002.

Alun Michael: The costs of the subsidies paid by the Department for the four in house canteens, three in central London and one in York, for 2002 was £132,413.75.
	The figures for the full costs of these canteens and other catering services could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Invoices

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the occasions on which her Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period within financial year 2001–02.

Alun Michael: Information on the occasions where the Department, Agencies and non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within the 30 days or after the agreed credit period can be obtained only by disproportionate cost. However I am able to say that the percentage of bills which were paid by Defra within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice was 91 per cent., or 85 per cent. when FMD transactions are included for financial year 2001–02. The average percentage of bills paid by the Departments' Agencies was 93 per cent. over the same period. The average percentage of bills paid by the Departments non-departmental public bodies was 76 per cent. over the same period.

Dog Fouling

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fines were imposed for dog fouling during 2001.

Alun Michael: The number of fines imposed nationally for dog fouling during 2001–02 was 2,227.

Environment Agency

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans she has to expand the remit of the Environment Agency;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with the Environment Agency regarding a more independent status for the organisation.

Michael Meacher: We intend that the Environment Agency should take responsibility from local authorities and internal drainage boards for all watercourses that present the greatest flood risk. We also intend that the Agency's flood defence functions should be funded by a single stream of DEFRA block grant which will, subject to enactment of the water bill, replace our grants for individual capital schemes and also the levies currently paid by local authorities. The timing of these changes will be announced in due course. The Department has no other plans to change the remit or status of the Agency.

External Reports

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to her Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by her Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

Alun Michael: The information requested in this question is not held centrally in the form requested and could be collated only at a disproportionate cost.

Rural Tourism

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she will take to ensure the promotion of rural tourism after the merger of the English Tourism Council and the British Tourist Authority.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	VisitBritain, the new organisation which has been created from the merger of the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council will market England within Britain and Britain to the rest of the world. VisitBritain is developing a comprehensive long-term strategy for the marketing of England, to include the countryside. A partnership between VisitBritain, the Regional Development Agencies, the Regional Tourist Boards and the private sector will shortly launch a spring 2003 tourism marketing campaign urging British people to explore England.

Waste Minimisation and Recycling Schemes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what priority will be given to the funding of waste minimisation and recycling schemes in local authorities with a significant number of landfill sites in their area when changes to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme are introduced; and if she will make a statement.

Michael Meacher: holding answer 24 February 2003
	Prior to current Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) reform, LTCS funding was directed mainly at approved environmental and social/community projects (approximately one third of the Scheme) and at local authority collection and recycling infrastructure improvements.
	Under the proposed reforms, the former will continue to be funded along similar lines as now, while the latter will be supported through closer focussing on sustainable waste management objectives. That will certainly include suitable waste minimisation and recycling schemes.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aid Agencies

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the UK Government are taking to ensure aid agencies have safe access to endangered populations.

Clare Short: Humanitarian agencies cannot operate until a permissive security environment has been established. In the interim, the military will discharge their humanitarian obligations under the Geneva Convention and Hague Regulations in order to provide relief in the areas they occupy. Once the situation allows, NGOs will need to undertake their own security assessments before engaging.

Cuba

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on aid to Cuba.

Clare Short: We do not have a government-to-government bilateral aid programme to Cuba nor do we have plans to develop one.
	Funding for DFID programmes in Cuba in 2001–02 was £346,000 primarily through NGOs.
	In addition DFID contributes £1 million as its share of the EC aid programme to Cuba.

Emergency Preparations

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for what reasons the Government has not made extra funding available to her Department to finance emergency preparedness.

Clare Short: On 27 March the Chancellor announced that HM Treasury would provide an additional £120 million to DFID for its work in Iraq.

Humanitarian Assistance

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government will take to support the role of the UN in co-ordinating humanitarian relief efforts.

Clare Short: It is essential that international plans are co-ordinated. This is the role of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). We have provided £150,000 to support their Iraq co-ordination centre in Cyprus and have seconded two members of staff.

Humanitarian Assistance

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government will take to ensure that humanitarian assistance is given on the basis of need by impartial and independent organisations.

Clare Short: The UK is committed to humanitarian assistance being provided by civilian agencies wherever possible, on the basis of need, and not as part of a military strategy. We are supporting the role of UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in co-ordinating humanitarian assistance. DFID funds for humanitarian assistance are disbursed through independent agencies.

Iraq

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) bilateral and (b) multilateral funding her Department has allocated for development aid for Iraqi citizens in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) each of the next three years.

Clare Short: Our bi-lateral programme assistance to Iraq in 2002–03 is expected to total approximately £8 million.
	Since the onset of the current crisis, DFID has committed £50 million to support preparations by humanitarian agencies, including £32 million for the Red Cross/Red Crescent and £8 million for the World Food Programme. DFID has a further £160 million earmarked for the humanitarian response and is considering further assistance in line with emerging needs. We will consider further resource needs for the reconstruction phase in due course. It is not possible at this stage to anticipate the sums that will be required over the next three years, or to anticipate the balance between bi-lateral and multilateral funding.
	DFID provides 19 per cent. of European Community (EC) funding to Iraq through the Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission (ECHO). Since 1991, these contributions have totalled £15 million.
	On 21 March 2003, the College of European Commissioners proposed to release an additional 79 million euros from their Emergency Aid Reserve for Iraq, increasing their total humanitarian commitment in the current crisis to 100 million euros. This funding is still to be approved by the European Council.

Iraq

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the levels of food and medicines stockpiled by the coalition on the Iraqi border for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people within Iraq.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	United Kingdom forces will, where they are able, deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq until the post-conflict security situation stabilises sufficiently for civilian agencies to deploy. The coalition has long recognised that this would be the case, and has made extensive preparations, including the purchase and pre-positioning of food, water, medicines and other supplies. Those supplies will be deployed as any humanitarian requirements arise, and on the advice of experts from the Department for International Development.

Iraq

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the (a) cost and (b) logistical challenge of aid operations to replace the Oil for Food Programme will be met.

Clare Short: The immediate humanitarian priority is to get the UN humanitarian actors back into Iraq as soon as the security situation allows, at the same time we must work to get the Oil For Food (OFF) programme back up and running. A new Security Council Resolution has been passed which allows the UN Secretary General to take charge of the programme.
	The UK has meanwhile been in discussion with the UN humanitarian agencies, Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement and international NGOs to determine what resources they require to procure food to cover any temporary, gap in the OFF programme. The UN is currently planning on a medium case scenario under which the World Food Programme will provide food assistance for a three-month period. We have committed £115 million to support the preparations of our humanitarian partners including the World Food Programme. The WFP is acutely aware of the need to maintain and re-build the Iraqi distribution system used for OFF so that humanitarian supplies can be delivered quickly to those in need.

Iraq

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to discuss the re-building of Iraqi institutions with European Union partners.

Clare Short: The first step is to secure a strong UN mandate for reconstruction. The European Council on 20 and 21 March agreed that the UN Security Council should give the UN such a mandate for post-conflict Iraq and make sure that the new Iraqi administration is one that is representative, respects the human rights of the Iraqi people, and allows the people of Iraq to live in peace internally and with their neighbours.

Iraq

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how she will ensure that humanitarian aid and re-construction of Iraq are carried out under the auspices of the United Nations.

Clare Short: The UN humanitarian agencies are well prepared and ready to re-enter Iraq as soon as the security situation allows. Iraq staff are still working within Iraq. The UN system has prepositioned stocks and supplies in the region, the World Food Programme has one months worth of food for two million people and is procuring more. The next priority is to get the Oil For Food (OFF) programme back up and running. A Security Council Resolution has now been passed to allow the UN Secretary General to take charge of the programme. 16 million people are reliant on OFF. Most have been provided with food supplies to the end of April but thereafter the need to supply food will be very urgent.
	We are also working to secure a UN mandate which will be required to provide legal authority for the reconstruction effort, and to make possible the engagement of the International Financial Institutions and the wider international community. The Government are holding on-going discussions with key partners to ensure such a mandate is put in place.

Liberia

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions her Department as had with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs regarding food shortages in Liberia.

Clare Short: We have not held recent discussions with the UN Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on the subject. DFID has provided substantial support to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Medicins Sans Frontieres, the UN High Commission for Refugees and UNOCHA in Liberia during the past year for both refugees and displaced people. Some of this assistance may be used to help tackle food security needs.

Private Finance Initiative

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the expected saving to public funds from the private finance initiative schemes due to become operational in 2003.

Clare Short: DFID has no private finance initiatives.

Somali Peace Process

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support her Department is giving to the Somali peace process taking place in Kenya; and if she will make a statement.

Clare Short: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has contributed £25,000 to the Somali Reconciliation process. Since January 2003, a new joint DFID/FCO Officer in the High Commission in Nairobi has engaged with the reconciliation talks and has facilitated several policy discussions on behalf of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Special Envoy.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bank Account Access (Post Office)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will seek to ensure that banks allow customers with regular current accounts to access their pensions and benefits at the Post Office; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Post Office currently provides banking services on behalf of Girobank/Alliance and Leicester, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, the Co-Operative, and the Internet Banks Smile and Cahoot. This (paper-based) service enables customers of these banks to cash cheques at post offices free of charge. The Post Office is in discussion with the banks to modernise these services and to extend commercial arrangements to cover other financial institutions. This is a commercial matter between Post Office Ltd. and the individual financial institutions.

Bank Account Access (Post Office)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the (a) banks and (b) building societies that will offer access to (i) standard current accounts and (ii) basic bank accounts through the Post Office.

Stephen Timms: The Post Office currently provides banking services on behalf of Girobank/Alliance and Leicester, Barclays Lloyds TSB, the Co-Operative, and the Internet Banks Smile and Cahoot. This (paper-based) service enables customers of these banks to cash cheques at post offices free of charge. The Post Office is in discussion with the banks to modernise these services and to extend commercial arrangements to cover other financial institutions.
	From April this year the Post Office will provide access to basic bank accounts on behalf of Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland/Nat West, HSBC, Abbey National, HBOS, Alliance and Leicester, NAG, the Co-operative Bank, First Trust, the Bank of Ireland and the Nationwide Building Society.

Broadband

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial assistance her Department is providing to help small businesses in rural Suffolk access broadband services.

Stephen Timms: DTI has supplied the East of England Development Agency with £3.22 million from the UK Broadband Fund. Part of this funding has been used towards the RABBIT initiative (Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial), which has supplied SMEs throughout the East of England with financial grants to help purchase broadband connections other than ADSL or cable modem. EEDA's connecting communities competition, which aims to provide funding for groups of companies or individuals towards obtaining broadband connections for their communities, has seen more applications from Suffolk than any other EEDA county.

Business Development

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what help her Department gives to (a) district and (b) borough councils to help local business to (i) expand and (ii) start up.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department supports small businesses and those thinking of starting a business through the Small Business Service (SBS). SBS works through a network of business link operators across England who provide information, advice, or access to experts on any aspect needed to start and expand a business. The budget totalled £140 million in 2002–03. Business link operators are independent autonomous organisations who work in partnership with local organisations such as their local authorities, district and borough councils.
	SBS funds over 90 Phoenix Development Fund projects to promote enterprise in disadvantaged areas amongst disadvantaged groups, a number have active local council involvement and two are run by local councils. Haringey council is being funded to undertake enterprise outreach work with young people in the local African Caribbean community. Stevenage borough council is receiving funding for 'Community Enterprise Champions' to work with groups who have found it difficult to access traditional forms of business support e.g. ethnic minorities, women and young people.

Fuel Cell Technology

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the support given by the Carbon Trust to the development of fuel cell technology in the UK.

Brian Wilson: holding answer 27 March 2003
	The department works closely with the Carbon Trust on a range of energy and carbon related matters including fuel cell technology development. The Carbon Trust, an independent, not for profit company, has recently published an assessment of low carbon technologies and fuel cells were identified as one of its priorities for support through its Low Carbon Innovation Programme.
	In February, we published a joint study with the Carbon Trust reviewing the commercial potential of fuel cells in the UK. This study will help the department and the Carbon Trust develop a complementary approach to supporting the development and commercialisation of fuel cells for the home and export markets. Within this co-operative framework, individual funding decisions are matters for the respective organisations. In the case of the Carbon Trust, these decisions are taken by the company.

Post Office Card Account

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she is taking to promote the use of Post Office card accounts.

Stephen Timms: The Post Office card account is one of a range of accounts that people can use to receive benefit payments into, and which will enable people who wish to do so to be able to collect their benefits in cash at post offices. Our aim is that people should be able to choose the option that suits them best. Information about all the options is being supplied to benefit, pension and tax credit customers by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Inland Revenue. Post Office Ltd is also making its own material available to customers.

Quality Mark

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimates she has made of the number of builders that will receive reduced insurance premiums as a result of the new health and safety assessments made as part of the Quality Mark scheme.

Brian Wilson: Discounts on liability insurance premiums are a commercial proposition, open to all Quality Marked firms. They are part of a package of financial benefits which will help drive take up of the scheme. Likely numbers are difficult to estimate at this early stage. Firms which do not initially pass the required health and safety assessment are given advice on how to meet the standards, to access the discount.

Renewable Energy

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what the total amount was of (a) electricity and (b) heat produced by the combustion of biodegradable municipal solid waste (i) including and (ii) excluding tyres in the United Kingdom every year since 1992; and what percentage of the total renewable energy produced these represented;
	(2)  what the total amount of (a) electricity and (b) heat produced by the combustion of tyres in the United Kingdom was in each year since 1992; and what percentage of the total renewable energy produced these represented.

Brian Wilson: holding answers 28 March 2003
	The available information is as follows:
	
		
			  Biodegradable municipal solid waste Waste tyres 
			  Used to generate heat (thousand tonnes of oil equivalent) Percentageof total renewables and wastes used to generate heat Electricity generated (GWh) Percentage of total electricity generated from renewables and wastes Used to generate heat (thousand tonnes of oil equivalent) Percentageof total renewables and wastes used to generate heat Electricity generated (GWh) Percentage of total electricity generated from renewables and wastes 
		
		
			 1992 49.0 11.2 177 2.7 3.7 0.8 — — 
			 1993 44.9 6.9 251 4.3 3.9 0.6 18 0.3 
			 1994 46.8 5.2 449 6.1 3.4 0.4 88 1.2 
			 1995 48.5 5.1 471 6.5 2.3 0.2 135 1.9 
			 1996 50.6 5.3 490 8.0 — — 129 2.1 
			 1997 14.3 1.5 585 7.9 — — 139 1.9 
			 1998 24.1 2.8 849 9.2 — — 84 0.9 
			 1999 32.0 4.0 856 8.4 — — 55 0.5 
			 2000 40.6 5.6 862 8.2 — — 26 0.2 
			 2001 46.5 6.6 948 9.4 — — — — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. '—' means nil or negligible (less than half the final digit shown).
	2. As waste tyres are not a biodegradable waste, the two sets of figures have not been added together.
	Source:
	Digests of United Kingdom Energy Statistics

Small Businesses

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of UK companies employ 15 or fewer employees; and what proportion of the UK workforce such establishments employ.

Nigel Griffiths: Data for businesses with 15 or fewer employees is not available. However, published figures do cover the size-classes 0–9 employees and 10–19 employees.
	At the start of 2001 there were about 3.5 million businesses with 0.9 employees and they employed a little over 6.5 million people. This represents nearly 95 per cent. of the UK business population and 29 per cent. of UK employment.
	About 3.67 million businesses had 0–19 employees. They employed 8.1 million people. This represents nearly 98 per cent. of the UK business population and 36 per cent. of UK employment. The 10–19 size-class accounted for an extra 112,000 businesses and 1.57 million employment.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Broadband

Tim Boswell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he is taking to maximise broadband connections to new housing developments.

Tony McNulty: On 14 March the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published a public consultation document entitled "The Building Regulations and Electronic Communications Services (Broadband) 1 ". The aim of this consultation is to assess whether the demand for broadband services is being restricted by the inconvenience people may experience when retrospectively installing broadband services in existing premises, and whether this should be addressed through the Building Regulations, by Government supported voluntary means or not at all. The consultation closes on 13 June 2003.
	1 Available at http://www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/consult/brecs/index.htm

Council House Rents (East Riding)

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of unpaid council house rents in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is tabled.
	
		East Riding Of YorkshireLocal authority housing arrears (unaudited figures) -- (£000s)
		
			 Date Current tenants Formertenants Total 
		
		
			 31 March 1997 920 88 1,008 
			 31 March 1998 908 263 1,171 
			 31 March 1999 634 305 938 
			 31 March 2000 842 319 1,161 
			 31 March 2001 1,198 311 1,509 
			 31 March 2002 940 503 1,443 
		
	
	Source:Second housing subsidies and grants form

Development Certificates

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what legal duties Swale borough council has when issuing a lawful development certificate to (a) consult parish councils and (b) inform elected council members.

Tony McNulty: There is no statutory requirement on local planning authorities to consult parish councils when issuing lawful development certificates. The local planning authority may, however, seek evidence from the parish council if there is reason to believe that they possess relevant information about a specific lawful development certificate application. Lawful development certificate applications and decisions are entered in the local planning authority's planning register in accordance with section 69 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The planning register is available for inspection by the public, including members of parish councils and elected council members.

Homelessness

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless households in the constituency of Buckingham have been resident in bed and breakfast accommodation in 2002; and what percentage of these claimed social security benefits in 2002.

Tony McNulty: Information reported by Aylesbury Vale District Council on the number of homeless households resident in bed and breakfast hotels under statutory homelessness provisions at the end of each quarter in 2002 is given as follows. This information relates to households in the local authority area. Aylesbury Vale DC comprises the entire parliamentary constituency of Buckingham, and part of Aylesbury. The number of these households claiming, or in receipt of, social security benefits is not collected centrally.
	
		Homeless households in bed and breakfast accommodation (including shared facility annexes): Aylesbury Vale DC
		
			 2002 Number 
		
		
			 31 March 1 
			 30 June 4 
			 30 September 4 
			 31 December 0 
		
	
	Note:
	Includes households accommodated pending completion of inquiries by the local authority.
	Source:
	ODPM P1(E) housing returns (quarterly).

Local Authority Housing

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council houses there are in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) district or borough council area.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows:
	(a) The number of council houses broken down by parliamentary constituency is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	(b) Information on the number of council houses in England broken down by local authority area has been placed in the Library of the House.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures the Department has taken to publicise public meetings arising from the public consultation into referendums for regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister invited responses by post and email from individuals and organisations to our soundings exercise on the level of interest in each English region outside London in holding a referendum about establishing an elected regional assembly. We advised representative bodies that we would attach additional weight to responses which had been framed in response to wide consultation, but left it to them to decide on how best to consult their members, constituents or the general public in their area. No public meetings were held by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Regional Assemblies

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses he has received to the consultation on a referendum for an elected regional assembly for Yorkshire and the Humber.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March on its soundings exercise about the level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum about an elected regional assembly. Approximately 5,000 responses have been received so far, amongst which we have identified just over 400 from Yorkshire and the Humber.

Regional Assemblies

Louise Ellman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses he has received from the north-west in the recent soundings consultation on directly elected regional assemblies; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March 2003 on its soundings exercise about the level of interest in each English region in holding a referendum about an elected regional assembly. Approximately 5,000 responses have been received so far, among which we have identified just under 2000 from the north-west.
	Decisions will be announced after the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill has received Royal Assent.

Regional Assemblies

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what EU funding is spent by regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: None.

Regional Assemblies

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what civil service support is available to regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: Meeting room space in government offices has occasionally been provided. But the voluntary regional assemblies are freestanding bodies that do not have civil service support.

Regional Assemblies

John Bercow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the responses he has received to his proposals for referendums on regional assemblies.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister asked for responses by 3 March 2003 on its soundings exercise about the level of regional interest in each English region in holding a referendum about an elected regional assembly. So far the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has received approximately 5,000 responses. We will announce our decisions after the Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill has received Royal Assent.

South West Area Multi-Modal Study

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role the South West Regional Assembly can play in revising the report of the South West Area Multi-Modal Study.

Nick Raynsford: As Regional Planning Body, the South West Regional Assembly has reported to the Government with its conclusions and recommendations relating to the study. The final decision rests with Government.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Brass Bands

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if it is the policy of the Government that premises owned by brass bands and used for rehearsals and practice should be subject to licensing.

Kim Howells: Under the Licensing Bill rehearsing or practising of any form of entertainment would not be licensable unless it is intended to be provided for the public or a charge was made for a private audience. Other users of, for instance, a village hall, passing through the practice or rehearsal area would not trigger the licensing requirements.

Commercial Confidentiality

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department issues to civil servants on how to deal with claims from organisations that the information they provide to the Department is commercially confidential.

Kim Howells: Procurement in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the responsibility of procurement staff qualified by examination and experience and who, by virtue of the professional training they have received, are able to deal with questions of commercial confidentiality without further guidance.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her estimate is of the expenditure of her Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002.

Kim Howells: The Department's spend on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002–03 was £29,393.

External Reports

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to her Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by her Department in each year since 1997.

Kim Howells: The title and subject, cost and the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by the Department in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table.
	An "external report" has been interpreted as being a report produced at the request of government by a person, group or organisation external to the department, and which is publicly available. These costs are exclusive of any costs incurred by the Department in the publication of these reports which could have been obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Year Title Cost £ (including VAT where indicated) Author 
		
		
			 1997 A review of the Ecclesiastical Exemption from listed building controls jointly with the Welsh Office): Listings 30,000 John Newman 
			 1998 A study to assess the economic impact of Government policies for digital television and for the closure of analogue transmission: Broadcasting (4)37,996.93 National Economic Research Associates 
			 1998 A feasibility study for compiling a tourism satellite account for the United Kingdom: Tourism not known Cambridge Policy consultants and Geoff Broom Associates 
			 1999 Coalfields and the Lottery: Lottery (4)13,240 Tony Gore, Gordon Dabinett and Jonathan Breeze Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University 
			 1999 Establising a new National Tourism Body for Tourism in England—Report and Action plan: Tourism 18,000 Angela Heath 
			 1999 The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Government-sponsored Museums and Galleries: Museums and Galleries (4)260,424 Deloitte Touche and Lord Cultural Resources and Planning 
			 1999 Review of the future funding of the BBC: Broadcasting not known Gavyn Davies 
			 2000 Improving Lottery Funding Access and Delivery in the British Coalfield: Lottery (4)30,475 Tony Gore, Gordon Dabinett and Jonathan Breeze Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University 
			 2000 Out of the Box—The Programme Supply Market in the Digital Age—Broadcasting (4)76,051.88 David Graham and Associates 
			 2000 Review of the BBC's Financial Projections: Broadcasting (4)23,4847 PKF 
			 2001 A study into the Social Impacts of Lottery good cause spending in the UK: Lottery (4)21,296.95 Graeme Evans and Phyllidia Shaw, Centre for Leisure and Tourism Studies, University of North London 
			 2001 Future of the Royal Park Constabulary—The Speed Report: Royal Parks Agency 20,950 Anthony Speed 
			 2001 Review of the Tote privitisation sale strategy/An updated assessment reflection of the Tote's current financial projections and business plan: Gambling 20,000 PricewaterhouseCoopers 
			 2001 To quantify the enviromental and cost saving benefits of waste minimisation in the hotels sector: Tourism 19,900 AEA Technology 
			 2001 Review of the BBC's Fair Trading Commitment and Commercial Policy: Broadcasting not known Michael Whish 
			 2001 English National Stadium Review—Interim Report(5) 46,000 Patrick Carter 
			 2002 UK Television Programme Supply review 25,0000 ITC 
			 2002 Final Evaluation of the Travel Cumbria Project: Tourism 4,995 Halcrow Fox 
			 2002 The Economic Impact of Tourism—North East pilot study: NE England Economy 10,000 Trends Business Research with Cogentsi 
			 2002 Independent Review of BBC News 24: Broadcasting (4)39,473.4 Richard Lambert 
			 2002 Lessons Learned—Review of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester Final Report—December 2002(6) 0 KPMG 
			 2002 English National Stadium Review—Final Report(7) 346,000 Patrick Carter 
			 2002 Survey of Public Opinion on a London 2012 Olympic Bid(8) 37,750 ICM Polling 
			 2003 Considering the potential taxation implications arising from he planned transfer of assets upon abolition of the Levy Board: Horserace Betting Levy Board 5,023 PKF 
			 2003 E-commerce Impact Study on the Tourism Sector: Tourism(8) 0 PricewaterhouseCoopers 
		
	
	(4) Indicates that VAT has been charged
	(5) This figure includes the costs of the Review of the National Athletics Centre for Sport England.
	(6) Jointly commissioned by DCMS, Sport England and Manchester city council in August 2002. The cost of the report was met from Games funding to which DCMS contributed but there is no direct, invoiced cost to us
	(7) Published 16 October 2002. Costs of the Review process from 19 December 2001 to present day
	(8) Although commissioned by the Department, this report was paid for by ukonline.
	The costs of these reports could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

National Lottery

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what awards have been made to the Battersea constituency by the distributing bodies of the National Lottery in each of the last five years.

Richard Caborn: According to the National Lottery awards database, which is based upon the information provided by the Lottery distributors, the number of awards that have been made to the Battersea constituency by each of the National Lottery good causes in the last five calendar years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Arts 5 9 18 14 14 
			 Charitable expenditure 5 13 3 11 12 
			 Health, education and the environment 0 1 5 6 5 
			 Heritage 2 1 2 2 2 
			 Millennium 0 3 0 0 0 
			 Sports 0 1 3 3 1

Sports Facilities

Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she is taking to (a) increase and (b) refurbish sports facilities in London; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Local authorities are the key providers of sport and recreation facilities in their areas. For that reason they are responsible for making the difficult judgments about what sports facilities to provide at the expense of local taxpayers, and the decisions about the renovation of local facilities.
	Significant investment from the National Lottery has helped to create new state of the art community sports facilities. Local authorities may apply to the Lottery Sports Fund for grants for the creation of new sports facilities, and the upgrading of existing facilities to increase participation. London boroughs have received 201 grants from the Lottery Sports Fund's Community Capital Fund totalling over £249.5 million, for projects costing over £675 million.
	Local education authorities in the London boroughs will also benefit from the New Opportunities Fund's PE and Sport programme which aims to bring about a step change in the provision of sports facilities for young people and for the local community. The New Opportunities Fund provisionally allocated funding to each local education authority area to ensure that funding is available for projects in all parts of the country. Local education authorities in London have been allocated £81,286,000 under the programme.
	The Government's planning guidance to local authorities (PPG 17) requires local planning authorities to undertake assessments to determine what deficiencies exist in their areas and to remedy those deficiencies in provision via their plans and planning decisions.

TRANSPORT

Air Travel (Environmental Taxation)

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact he estimates a reduction in passenger demand for air travel as a result of the introduction of proposals to introduce environmental taxation on air travel, outlined in Aviation and the Environment, would have on Government estimates of passenger demand cited in 'The Future Development of Air Transport in the South East'.

David Jamieson: There would be no material difference as this has already been taken into account. Demand forecasts in 'The Future Development of Air Transport in the United Kingdom' consultation document took into account aviation's contribution to climate change, by far the most significant environmental cost. They did so by assuming a CO2 tax in place by 2015 to internalise aviation's climate change costs.
	The recent discussion paper 'Aviation and the Environment: Using Economic Instruments' cites a figure of £1.4 billion as the estimated annual cost of aviation's contribution to climate change. The costs are similar to the value of the CO2 tax, which was assumed in the demand forecasts.

Brighton West Pier

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from English Heritage in respect of the proposed Brighton West Pier Harbour Revision Order.

David Jamieson: None.

Brighton West Pier

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce a decision on the proposed Harbour Revision Order for the Brighton West Pier.

David Jamieson: There is one outstanding objection to this application and the Harbours Act 1964 requires that when this is the case, an inquiry must be held. If the applicants apply for an inquiry now, a decision on the Harbour Revision Order could be made within five to six months.

Brighton West Pier

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the need for repair to and restoration of the Brighton West Pier in considering the Harbour Revision Order;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the decision of Brighton and Hove City Council's Planning Applications Sub-Committee of 26 February 2003, in relation to the Brighton West Pier and the subsequent decision of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the West Pier Planning Application in considering the proposed West Pier Harbour Revision Order.

David Jamieson: None. The Secretary of State will receive advice on all relevant issues from the Inspector after a public inquiry into the Order, if and when an inquiry is held.

Central Railway

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has asked the Strategic Rail Authority to amend any aspect of its report delivered in autumn 2002 on the Central Railway proposal.

David Jamieson: No.

Civil Contingency Planning

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his Department's (a) responsibilities and (b) assets with regard to civil contingency planning; what funds are committed; what action he is taking within his Department to improve such planning; and what action he is taking in collaboration with other departments.

David Jamieson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 21 March 2003 Official Report, columns 957–58. Following a recent internal review the Department has increased its capacity for handling civil contingency planning by establishing a dedicated team within its Defence and Civil Contingency Planning Division. The overall resource for the current year is around £850,000 and will increase by £150,000 for 2003–04 mainly to reflect the increased work on civil contingency planning.
	The Civil Contingency Planning team is reviewing the Department's role with the transport sector's own contingency planning. It is also working closely with Whitehall committees, Government Departments and Government Offices on developing civil contingency issues and responses to such events, as demonstrated by the co-operation during the current fire fighters dispute and recent exercises. The team is also working closely on the improvement of the department's own contingency plan. The Department will also continue to play an active role in Government exercises.

Civil Service Travel

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grades in the Civil Service in his Department are allowed to travel by air (a) first class and (b) business class at public expense when on official duties.

David Jamieson: Staff in my Department must use the most efficient and economic means of travel commensurate with meeting operational needs.
	Staff may only use first class air travel where it is unavoidable, for instance:
	(a) it is necessary to travel in the company of someone else who is travelling first class
	(b) there is an urgent business at short notice where no other class of ticket is available.
	Business class air travel can be used by staff in the following circumstances:
	Internal flights
	(a) they are a member of the Senior Civil Service at pay band 2 or higher
	(b) no tickets are available in economy class and the business need is urgent. Overseas flights
	(a) the duration of the flight is more than 2½ hours
	(b) strict application of the rules might not be cost effective and can be justified by a saving in time or subsistence.
	Staff may also use business class travel if:
	(a) the facilities provided in economy class do not meet their needs in that they are pregnant, suffering from a temporary or permanent disability or because of their physical stature.
	(b) it is necessary to travel in the company of someone else who is travelling business class.
	(c) they are a member of the Senior Civil Service who transferred to my Department from the Treasury Solicitor's Department and have reserved rights.

Communications Masts

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many communications masts will be required for the new GSM-R digital network.

David Jamieson: I understand that Network Rail is upgrading its analogue radio systems network of around 1,400 telecommunications masts to a national digital network of approximately 2,000 masts. The increased number arises from the extended coverage of the new system across the entire rail network, including all tunnels and cuttings.

Departmental Conferences

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost.

David Jamieson: This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

External Reports

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the title and subject, (b) the total cost to his Department and (c) the commissioned author or organisation of each external report commissioned by his Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997.

John Spellar: Information on publications and reports produced by the Department is not broken down to this level of detail. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions' annual report in 2001 lists all white and green papers and major policy documents issued by the Department between April 1997 and March 2001.
	A list of the titles published by and for the Department and its predecessors in each year since 1997 is available in the Libraries of the House.

M5

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent on maintaining the M5 in Somerset in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03.

David Jamieson: The total works and supervision cost spent on maintaining the M5 in Somerset for (a) 2001–02 was £1,649,416 and for (b) 2002–03 (to date) £4,178,450.
	Spend in 2002–03 is higher because a major road renewal scheme to replace a section of concrete carriageway was carried out south of Junction 26.

Network Rail

Howard Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether Network Rail pays (a) corporation tax, (b) income tax and (c) stamp duty; and what the VAT status of Network Rail is.

David Jamieson: Network Rail is treated in the same manner as any other private sector company in relation to these matters.

Private Hire Vehicles

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements his Department makes for the regulation of private hire vehicle companies employed by local authorities to transport (a) adults and (b) children with (i) autism and (ii) other disabilities.

David Jamieson: Primary legislation requires that private hire vehicle companies must be licensed by district or borough councils, unitary authorities or Transport for London. However, it is a matter for the local authorities making the arrangements with private hire vehicle companies to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place with regard to the carriage of passengers with particular needs.

Departmental Invoices

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the occasions on which (a) his Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 2001–02.

David Jamieson: Information in respect of the financial year 2001–02 is not available as my Department came into being in May 2002. The Department currently has a service delivery agreement target to pay at least 98 per cent. of valid invoices within 30 days of receipt. The overall performance of the Department and its agencies is monitored centrally and corrective action taken when necessary.

Rail Performance

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on changes in rail performance since May 1997.

David Jamieson: Rail performance is measured using the Public Performance Measure (PPM). This takes account of both the punctuality and reliability of trains.The SRA publish PPM data each quarter in National Rail Trends. The latest edition, published Wednesday 12 March, gives information PPM from Ql 1997–1998 to Q3 2002–2003. The document is in the Libraries of the House.

Rail Performance

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement of his policy on minor improvements to the rail network designed to improve reliability of punctuality of services; and how he expects Network Rail and the Strategic Rail Authority to assess the cost and benefits of such minor schemes.

David Jamieson: Securing the development of the rail network is a specific purpose of the Strategic Rail Authority. The Authority's strategic plan, published at the end of January, explains their investment priorities and approach to appraisal. The Authority must ensure that any expenditure from their budget is affordable and provides value for money. As stated in their directions and guidance, the Authority's assessment of value for money should be consistent with Treasury guidance in the green book.

Rural Roads

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress his Department has made with the proposals contained in the report, "Development of a Rural Road Hierarchy for Speed Management", published in November 2001.

David Jamieson: Following the publication of the Rural Road Hierarchy Report in November 2001 we are progressing work to improve safety across our rural road network. This includes simplifying the procedures to introduce 30mph village speed limits and the development of a framework to assess what speeds are appropriate, together with surveys of what speeds are actually being driven on rural roads. The first results of this work should be available shortly and will feed into other work, including a review of the guidance on setting speed limits due to start later this year.

Rural Roads

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish good practice guidance on rural road speed management.

David Jamieson: Guidance on the setting of rural road speed limits already exists in the form of Circular Roads 1/93. This remains good advice. The Government recognise, however, the need to build in the new experiences gained over the last 10 years. Work is due to start on revised guidance later this year. This will incorporate the on-going work to address the problems associated with vehicle speeds on rural roads.

Airport Noise

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to monitor aircraft disturbance around airports, with particular reference to Stansted; and what plans his Department has for improving existing measures.

David Jamieson: At Stansted, as at Gatwick and Heathrow, the noise climate is monitored by noise exposure contours, published each year to form an aircraft noise index. There are also fixed and mobile noise monitors in the vicinity of each airport which are part of the Noise and Track-keeping (NTK) system operated by BAA plc.
	The contours are determined by a computer model which calculates the emission and propagation of noise, using a database that is regularly updated with operational data gathered at the airports.
	The location of the fixed noise monitors was determined after a lengthy review and consultation on the departure noise limits and associated monitoring arrangements was announced on 18 December 2000, Official Report, columns 11–12W. In announcing that decision, my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin), confirmed the commencement of a further review of both monitoring efficiency and of the departure noise limits. The findings of that review will be published shortly.
	The mobile noise monitors are used to collect data for technical studies by the Civil Aviation Authority, for information gathering and to investigate local problems. At Stansted, as at Gatwick and Heathrow, it is normal practice for the deployment of monitors for local purposes to be discussed at meetings of the NTK working group on which local people are represented by members of the airport consultative committee.

Stansted Airport

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment of alternative runway mode has been undertaken in connection with the proposals for three additional runways at Stansted Airport outlined in 'The Future of Air Transport in the South East'.

David Jamieson: The option for three new runways at Stansted that was developed for the SERAS study provides for four runways arranged in two close parallel pairs. For the purposes of the study certain assumptions were made about the operation of the runways. The assumptions are set out in the SERAS Stage 1 report (option 7 on page 214), which is publicly available.
	One runway in each pair would be used for take-offs, the other for landings. In the case of the western pair, the outer (new) runway would be staggered to the north-east of the existing runway. On the basis that landing aircraft should land on the first runway they encounter, aircraft would land on the outer runway in westerly operations and the inner runway in easterly operations.
	The eastern pair would not be staggered so either runway could be used for landings and take-offs.
	The SERAS study did not appraise other possible ways of operating the runways. Consultees may wish to comment on these assumptions and any other aspect of the options for Stansted.

Stansted Airport

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessments his Department has made of the potential cost to public funds of a significant transfer of Heathrow's long haul and USA scheduled services to Stansted airport, if a second runway were to be built there.

David Jamieson: No detailed assessment has been made. Chapter 15 of 'The Future Development of Air Transport—South East' consultation document considers issues relating to the funding of one or more new runways at Stansted and gives examples of the sort of Government action that might be required to allow Stansted to be developed as a hub.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities concerning the treatment of Tibetan political prisoners.

Bill Rammell: We have raised specific cases of Tibetan prisoners three times this year, in both London and Beijing.
	We raise Human Rights concerns both publicly and privately with the Chinese Government. We raise individual cases of concern, both Tibetan and Chinese, with the Chinese authorities in the context of the biannual UK/China Human Rights Dialogue, the last round of which was held in London in November 2002. We expect the next round to take place in May.

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implications of the presidential election in Cyprus for the future of the Annan plan.

Denis MacShane: President Papadopoulos has taken a constructive approach towards the UN process. At the meeting in The Hague on 10–11 March, he was prepared to put the UN Secretary-General's plan to referendum.

Detention (France)

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received about UK citizens held (a) in remand and (b) following conviction in French prisons in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: We regularly receive representations on behalf of British citizens held in prisons in France. These are often from families concerned about members of their family. We look into the details of each case on an individual basis. We do not record statistics on the points raised by the hon. Member.

Detention (France)

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK lorry drivers are held (a) on remand and (b) in prison following conviction in France.

Mike O'Brien: There are currently 24 British lorry drivers held on remand in prisons in France and 25 British lorry drivers who are in prison following conviction.

Detention (France)

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK citizens are held (a) on remand and (b) in custody following conviction in France; and what proportion of (a) and (b) was for drug offences.

Mike O'Brien: There are currently 79 British citizens held on remand in France and 107 British citizens who have been convicted and are serving prison sentences in France. 68 per cent. of the British citizens detained both on remand and sentenced are being held on charges related to drugs.

Iraq

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he will take to ensure that in the Iraqi conflict, the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 requiring that any force that occupies all or part of a territory has to ensure the provision of food, medical supplies and the maintenance of hygiene and public health is adhered to.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	We take our responsibilities to the Iraqi people extremely seriously and British forces have played a vital role in the effort to liberate the port of Um Qasr, which will be a major point of entry for humanitarian aid into Iraq.
	Until the security situation in Iraq stabilises sufficiently to allow the full deployment of civilian aid agencies, United Kingdom forces will, where they are able, deliver emergency humanitarian assistance to the people of Iraq in full accordance with their obligations under the Geneva and Hague Conventions. The military has made extensive preparations for this, with the assistance of experts from the Department for International Development.

Iraq

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received about the source of evidence passed to the UN inspectors in Iraq in support of the allegation that Iraq had attempted to obtain uranium from Niger; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Information was passed to the UN weapons inspection teams from a number of sources. The documents referred to by Dr. El-Baradei in his presentation to the UN Security Council on 7 March 2003 came from only one of those sources. These were not documents provided by the UK. We continue to have confidence that the information provided by a variety of sources demonstrates a clear intention by Iraq to procure uranium to restart a covert nuclear programme.

Kuwait

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what contingency plans are in place (a) to supply British citizens who remain in Kuwait with emergency supplies and (b) to evacuate such people;
	(2)  how many British citizens remain in Kuwait; what advice he has given them; and what safety equipment has been made available to them.

Mike O'Brien: We advise against all travel to Kuwait. British nationals are urged to leave while commercial flights remain available. Kuwait airport remains open.
	Kuwaiti authorities say that there are no shortages of food or water. There are food stocks to feed the entire population (including expatriates) for several months. Ports are fully functional. The border with Saudi Arabia is open for the overland shipment of imports. Food aid shipments are being made into southern Iraq.
	On 11 March 2003, the number of British citizens registered at our embassy in Kuwait was 3,170. By 24 March 2003, 888 citizens had left. There will be some who have not registered, or have left without informing the embassy. Those who remain in Kuwait despite our travel advice are advised to follow the safety instructions of the emergency services in the event of a chemical or biological incident.
	I am advised that safety equipment needs to be adequate. However, only a full NBC suit, plus the full training needed to use it, would provide safety. A gas mask and other equipment of themselves might provide a false sense of security without the full NBC suit.

Kuwait

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to Kuwait about the use of the Kuwait Compensation Fund for the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.

Mike O'Brien: The purpose of the UN Commission for Compensation is to compensate for losses arising out of the illegal invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1991. The reconstruction of post-war Iraq will require funds from the wider international community.

Organisation for the Prohibition ofChemical Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 727, on OPCW, what information the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has given the UK Government about when budgetary contributions should be paid.

Mike O'Brien: The timelines for payment are in the OPCW's Financial Regulation 5.4. This states that contributions to the budget are payable in full within 30 days of receipt of the notice of assessment or on the first day of the financial period to which they relate, whichever is later. However, at 28 February 2003, 85 states parties had not paid anything towards their 2003 assessments.

Pensions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which his Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The UK based staff employed by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office are members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and related schemes. These schemes are managed under Section 1 of the Superannuation Act 1972, by the Civil Service Pensions Division of the Cabinet Office, on behalf of HM Treasury. The audited accounts of the PCSPS for 2001–2002 were laid before the House on 21 January 2003 by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
	Of the non-departmental public bodies for which the Foreign & Commonwealth Office is responsible, the staff of the British Council, the Great Britain China Centre and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy are similarly members of the PCSPS and related schemes. Staff of the Britain-Russia Centre and the British Association for Central and Eastern Europe receive an enhancement to their individual salaries in lieu of having pension arrangements.
	Various different pension arrangements exist for local staff at United Kingdom Missions abroad. Readily available information on such schemes is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Country Date of valuation Assets Future liabilities 
		
		
			 Belgium 2000 2,168,000 1,847,000 
			 Canada 2001 3,902,000 3,383,000 
			 Irish republic 2001 1,316,000 1,486,000 
			 Jamaica 2001 247,000 206,000 
			 South Africa 2000 1,713,000 1,103,000 
			 USA 2002 30,220,000 36,320,000 
		
	
	To obtain the information requested in respect of other schemes elsewhere abroad, would incur disproportionate costs.

Somalia

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is providing to establish a new reconciliation committee to address human rights, war crimes and transitional justice in Somalia.

Jack Straw: The UK is playing a leading role among international observers in assisting Ambassador Kiplagat, the new Kenyan chair of the Somali National Reconciliation Conference. The UK contributed £25,000 to conference costs. Addressing past human rights abuses is critical to resolution of the Somali conflict. However, the timing and way in which these issues are addressed is a matter for the Somalis.

Telecommunications Network

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of short term disruption to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Telecommunications Network in the event of the failure of the providing company; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Since the FCO's private sector supplier, Global Crossing, went into Chapter 11 proceedings in the US, the FCO has taken steps to ensure continuity of the FTN service. Contingency arrangements are in place to allow the FCO's essential services to continue to operate should Global Crossing, for any reason, withdraw their service. We are closely monitoring the company's progress towards exit from Chapter 11.

Telecommunications Network

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the (a) telephone system and (b) network connections were provided as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Telecommunications Network to the British Embassies in (i) Egypt, (ii) Syria, (iii) Jordan and (iv) Turkey; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The installations of the telephone systems and network connections at the embassies in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Turkey were completed, under the FTN contract, by Global Crossing as follows:
	
		
			 Embassy FTN Network Connection Telephone Systems Installed under FTN 
		
		
			 Amman 21 December 2000 11 March 1999(9) 
			 Ankara 26 March 2002 None(10)  
			 Cairo 12 March 2002 None(10)  
			 Damascus 24 May 2002 21 October 2001 
		
	
	(9) The telephone installation at Amman was completed prior to signing the FTN contract with Global Crossing. The installation was completed under the 'Instruction to proceed' process to ensure Year 2000 software compliance.
	(10) Legacy telephone systems are in service at the Embassies in Ankara and Cairo. These telephone systems were installed prior to the FTN contract being signed and are still operating within their expected design life. Both systems are connected to the new network allowing embassy staff to benefit from the full range of FTN services and facilities.

Western Sahara

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Western Sahara.

Mike O'Brien: On 25 March 2003, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1469, extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 May 2003 and requesting that the Secretary-General report by 19 May on the situation in the territory. James Baker, the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, is currently considering the parties' formal responses to his most recent proposal. Neither proposal nor responses have been made public.

PRIME MINISTER

10 Downing street

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister how many times 10 Downing street has been used for charitable functions in the last 12 months; for which organisations; and how much money was raised in each case.

Tony Blair: Since 2002, 38 charity receptions have been held at 10 Downing street, including events for Sane, Sight Savers International, Prisoners of Conscience, Saving Faces and Guide Dogs for the Blind. Fund-raising is a matter for the charities concerned.

Assassination (Government Policy)

Peter Viggers: To ask the Prime Minister what the policy of Her Majesty's Government is on assassination of (a) civil and (b) military public figures.

Tony Blair: Our policy is to act in accordance with UK and international law.

Committee on Standards in Public Life

Tony Wright: To ask the Prime Minister whether the Committee on Standards in Public Life has to receive his approval before undertaking an inquiry.

Tony Blair: The position remains as set out in the report of the Quinquennial Review of the Committee on Standards in Public Life published in January 2001, which is: "Both it (the Committee) and the Government have been free to propose topics, and the programme of work has been established after consultation between the Committee and the Government".

E-envoy

Tim Yeo: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the meetings he has had with the e-Envoy since the office was created.

Tony Blair: I have regular meetings with; civil servants and others on a wide range of subjects, and will continue to do so. As with previous Governments, it is not my practice to provide details of confidential discussions, under Exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he had regarding Gibraltar with the Prime Minister of Spain; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 27 March 2003, Official Report, column 309W.

IRA Murders (South Armagh)

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Prime Minister what reports he has received from the Victims Group FAIR concerning a number of IRA murders committed in South Armagh; and what progress has been made in the police investigation into each of these murders.

Tony Blair: As far as I am aware, I have not received any reports from FAIR on this issue specifically. Currently, the Police Service Northern Ireland are employing a group of former detectives in a civilian capacity to review the case files of a number of unsolved murders in the South Armagh area. It is not the Government's policy to comment on this on-going review.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he has discussed with President Bush the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq to assist the task of accounting for Saddam Hussein's alleged stocks of weapons of mass destruction; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I continue to discuss the full range of Iraq issues regularly with President Bush, including how to resolve outstanding disarmament issues.

Iraq

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is on the use of war to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Blair: The UK has never sought to use military means to enforce disarmament without first having exhausted all other avenues open to us.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on paragraphs (a) two and (b) three on the Al-Amn Al-Askari military security service in Iraq in the dossier, "Iraq—its infrastructure of concealment, deception and intimidation", published on 3 February.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 February 2003, Official Report, column 583W, and Prime Minister's Questions on 12 February 2003.

Poland

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Poland.

Tony Blair: It will be important to work with Poland and other countries about to join the European Union. I hope to visit again in the future.

Special Advisers

Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the names of his special advisers.

Tony Blair: At 28 March, the following special advisers are currently in post in my office:
	Andrew Adonis
	Arnab Banerji
	Phil Bassett
	David Bradshaw
	Alastair Campbell
	Hilary Coffman
	Patrick Diamond
	Matthew Elson
	Kate Garvey
	Sarah Hunter
	Peter Hyman
	Katie Kay
	Roger Liddle
	Liz Lloyd
	Chris McShane
	Fiona Millar
	Sally Morgan
	Joanna Nadin
	Geoff Norris
	Carey Oppenheim
	Jonathan Powell
	Catherine Rimmer
	Justin Russell
	Derek Scott
	Carl Shoben
	Simon Stevens

NORTHERN IRELAND

Civil Servants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many civil servants have been employed by (a) his department and (b) each of its agencies and non departmental bodies in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Paisley, South on 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 333W, for HCS staff. In addition, the overall figures for the Northern Ireland Office for NICS and HCS are collated in September of each year and are as follows:
	
		
			  Total 
		
		
			 1994–95 5,705 
			 1995–96 4,779 
			 1996–97 4,590 
			 1997–98 4,446 
			 1998–99 4,232 
			 1999–00 3,929 
			 2000–2001 3,306 
			 2001–02 3,318 
			 2002–03 3,361 
		
	
	NDPBs are generally supported by civil servants from their sponsor departments, and do not employ their own staff with exception of the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Juvenile Justice Board. The figures for the NIO agencies and NDPBs are collated in September of each year and are as follows:
	
		
			  Compensation agency Forensic science Northern Ireland NI prison service Probation board for Northern Ireland Juvenile justice board 
		
		
			 1994–95 149 126 4,265 2 0 
			 1995–96 132 125 3,515 1 0 
			 1996–97 131 123 3,377 1 0 
			 1997–98 120 122 3,212 1 0 
			 1998–99 139 125 3,085 1 0 
			 1999–2000 128 123 2,720 1 0 
			 2000–01 138 128 2,123 1 0 
			 2001–02 141 137 2,143 1 0 
			 2002–03 137 131 2,137 1 2 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of civil servants (permanent and temporary, non-industrial and industrial employees) in Northern Ireland Administration bodies from 1994–95 until 2001–02, with figures for each agency and non-departmental body shown separately. Only those non-departmental bodies employing civil servants have been included. Statistics for 2002–03 are not yet available.
	
		
			  1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Departments 15,980 8,869 7,630 7,230 6,820 6,943 8,667 9,102 
			 Sponsored agencies: 
			 Business Development Service — — 259 227 238 278 268 266 
			 Child Support Agency 1,044 968 1,151 1,229 1,206 1,424 1,470 1,612 
			 Construction Service — 725 690 576 557 516 509 507 
			 Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency 242 253 261 275 297 320 351 398 
			 Driver & Vehicle Testing Agency 252 289 312 318 326 319 348 391 
			 Environment & Heritage Service — 370 353 352 360 354 372 410 
			 Forest Service — — — — 412 395 387 372 
			 Government Purchasing Agency — 58 68 72 91 100 79 89 
			 Industrial Research & Technology Unit 149 156 152 143 141 148 154 171 
			 Land Registers for NI — 230 220 205 199 195 194 201 
			 NI Health & Social Services Estates Agency(11) — 125 117 120 117 114 119 119 
			 NI Statistics & Research Agency — 107 125 177 219 255 290 301 
			 Ordnance Survey NI 195 192 179 177 178 175 176 179 
			 Planning Service — 422 407 386 420 452 484 529 
			 Public Record Office NI 90 91 80 62 67 68 70 69 
			 Rate Collection Agency 286 282 252 256 250 233 238 234 
			 Rivers Agency — — 493 460 431 420 402 408 
			 Roads Service — 2,379 2,269 2,207 2,163 2,162 2,175 2,230 
			 Social Security Agency 5,655 5,699 5,799 5,555 5,582 5,526 5,732 6,091 
			 Training & Employment Agency 1,318 1,334 1,200 1,318 1,365 1,269 — — 
			 Valuation and Lands Agency 317 313 288 270 222 267 268 279 
			 Water Service — 2,384 2,353 2,278 2,228 2,216 2,176 2,202 
			 Sub Total 9,548 16,377 17,028 16,663 17,069 17,206 16,262 17,058 
		
	
	(11) Average figures.
	
		Northern Ireland Civil Service
		
			  1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Departments 15,980 8,869 7,630 7,230 6,820 6,943 8,667 9,102 
			 Sponsored Agencies: 
			 Non-Departmental Bodies: 
			 Certificate Office 2 2 2 2 2 2 — — 
			 Commission for Racial Equality — — — 5 3 — — — 
			 Health & Safety Executive for NI — — — — — 68 76 76 
			 Local Enterprise & Development Unit 1 1 1 — — — — — 
			 Mental Health Commission 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 
			 Northern Ireland Tourist Board 5 3 4 3 1  — — 
			 Office for the Regulation of Electricity &Gas 14 14 19 19 23 28 15 14 
			 Planning/Water Appeals Commission — — — — — — — 13 
			 Sub Total 30 28 34 37 37 106 98 110 
			 Total NICS staff 25,558 25,274 24,692 23,930 23,926 24,255 25,027 26,270 
		
	
	Note:
	The absence of a yearly figure in the table indicates that the agency/NDPB was not in existence at that time.

Entertainment

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his estimate is of the total spending of his Department on all forms of entertainment in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The estimated total spend by the Northern Ireland Office (excluding its agencies and NDPBs)on all forms of entertainment in each financial year from 1994–95 to 2002–03 is set out in the table:
	
		£
		
			 Year Total 
		
		
			 1994–95 190,300 
			 1995–96 195,205 
			 1996–97 214,363 
			 1997–98 214,473 
			 1998–99 322,853 
			 1999–2000 320,230 
			 2000–01 246,517 
			 2001–02 221,477 
			 2002–03 (12)255,875 
		
	
	(12) To date (full year estimate £325,000)
	Entertainment at public expense is provided using very strict criteria. A necessary pre-condition for any entertainment or hospitality to be financed from public funds is that it will be in the direct interests of the Northern Ireland Office and/or its Agencies. The facility to offer official entertainment or hospitality is used sparingly and is carefully monitored.
	The estimated total spend by the Northern Ireland Administration on all forms of entertainment in each financial year from 1994–95 to 2002–03 is set out in the table:
	
		£
		
			 Year Total 
		
		
			 1994–95 245,377 
			 1995–96 407,248 
			 1996–97 466,995 
			 1997–98 453,807 
			 1998–99 480,317 
			 1999–2000 493,729 
			 2000–01 595,261 
			 2001–02 534,712 
			 2002–03 (13)479,036 
		
	
	(13) To date

Further Education

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the information and communication technology strategy for further education has achieved its targets in terms of the number of full-time equivalent further education lecturers per networked PC.

Jane Kennedy: The information and communications technology strategy set a target of one networked PC to every three full-time equivalent FE Lecturers. While there are variances between colleges, the target has been exceeded for the sector as a whole with one networked PC to every 1.94 FE lecturers.

Grammar Schools

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will instruct a Minister from his Department to meet representatives of the grammar school sector in Northern Ireland to discuss arrangements relating to selection and entry to those schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: Diary pressures have restricted my meetings on the post-primary review to Northern Ireland political parties. However, in December I hosted a dinner for the main education sector interests, including the Governing Bodies Association representing the views of the voluntary grammar schools, to hear at first hand views on how best to take the review forward. In recent months my officials have met representatives of the GBA on four occasions and with representatives of grammar school principals on three occasions on this issue, most recently on Wednesday 26 March. My officials keep me fully advised of the views of the grammar school sector and I do not believe a meeting is necessary at the present time.

Laptops

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many laptop computers were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1995; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; what their cost was; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office has purchased the following number of laptops:
	
		()
		
			 Year No. Laptops purchased Stolen Cost of laptops stolen 
		
		
			 199697 25   
			 199798 28   
			 199899 34   
			 199900 55 1 1,500.00 
			 200001 30   
			 200102 18   
			 200203 17 1 1,500.00 
			 Total: 207   
		
	
	Records show that the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was provided with a laptop in 19992000. The current Secretary of State's special adviser has been provided with a laptop. Neither the current Secretary of State nor Ministers have laptops provided by the Northern Ireland Office. In the period from 1999 to date Ministers' offices were provided with a total of seven laptops. Detailed information prior to 1999 is not available.
	No laptops have been reported as lost. Two laptops have been reported as stolen.Each cost in the region of 1,500.
	For the Northern Ireland Administration, the number of laptop computers used, lost and stolen in, each year since 1995 by Ministers, special advisers and officials are set out in the table . The information relating to Ministers and special advisers in the Northern Ireland Administration is for the periods of devolution only. In the case of one department figures are not available prior to 1998.
	
		
			  Laptops used by:   
			 Year Minister and special advisers(2 December 1999 to 11 February 2000 30 May 2000 to 14 October 2002) Officials Lost Stolen Cost of Laptopslost/stolen 
		
		
			 199596  297
			 199697  314 1 1 2,000 
			 199798  367 2  2,675 
			 199899  415 1  1,546 
			 19992000 8 814 2 1 3,812 
			 200001 13 931 8 17 35,494 
			 200102 12 1,114 9  10,745 
			 200203 (to 17/02/03) 13 1,040 7 1 4,750

Ministerial Travel

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his estimate is of the total expenditure by his Department on ministerial travel (a) in the UK and (b) abroad, in each year from 199596 to 200203 (estimated); and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office follow Cabinet Office guidance on this matter. The guidance states, Since 1999 this Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. The Government has also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House.
	Information for 199798 was included in the 1999 list. The overall cost of Ministers' visits for the years 199596 and 199697 was most recently provided with the 2001 list. The information for 200203 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.
	Detailed information requested in respect of UK travel is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	The estimated total expenditure by the devolved Northern Ireland Administration on ministerial travel between 2 December 199911 February 2000 and 30 May 200014 October 2002 was 363,630.69.
	A breakdown of the figures for Northern Ireland Administration departments is shown in the table.
	
		
			  UK Abroad 
		
		
			 DOE 2,554.50 1,010.17 
			 DFP 281.00 5,253.00 
			 DETI 6,591.35 102,912.19 
			 DRD 2,879.00 10,375.00 
			 DARD 1,749.28 19,445.02 
			 DEL 2,447.35 9,031.70 
			 DHSSPS 1,981.82 1,756.87 
			 DE 1,683.90 10,683.01 
			 DSD 00.00 00.00 
			 DCAL 2,920.75 4,074.78 
			 Sub-Totals: 23,088.95 164,541.74 
			  
			 OFMDFM 
			 200001 (14)60,000.00 (14) 
			 200102 (14)55,000.00 (14) 
			 200203 21,000.00 40,000.00 
			 Sub-Totals: 136,000.00 40,000.00 
		
	
	(14) The information is not held in the required format

Multiple Sclerosis

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress made in 2003 (a) to increase the number of multiple sclerosis sufferers commencing beta interferon treatment and (b) to provide more specialist staff for multiple sclerosis treatment.

Des Browne: There are several disease modifying medicines (three beta interferon products and glatiramer) currently available for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). To meet the needs of all MS patients, including those who have been assessed as suitable for treatment with disease modifying drugs, there is also a requirement to secure the services of professionals with specialist expertise.
	Such treatment is supplied through the regional neurology services based at the Royal Group of Hospitals (RGH). They recently advertised for MS specialist nurses and interviews are scheduled to take place in April 2003. It is anticipated that this will both sustain current services and enhance provision for MS sufferers.
	RGH has appointed two additional pharmacists to commence in April 2003 and a pharmacy technician to enhance services for patients who receive specialist medicines, including disease-modifying drugs. Beyond this, two additional pharmacy members of staff have been appointed to specifically enhance delivery of pharmacy services for MS patients.
	At the end of February 2003, the RGH pharmacy was supplying disease-modifying drugs to 444 patients. This figure does not include patients who are taking a break from treatment for clinical and other reasons, nor those who are being supplied drugs through third party commercial suppliersfor example, a number of additional patients in the Western Health and Social Services Board area have been offered treatment through a contract with a private sector organisation.

Murder Investigation

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will ensure that there is a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding the murder of the son of Mr. David Wright that is fully compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Jane Kennedy: The government does not believe that there is a continuing obligation upon it to hold a new, article 2 compliant investigation into a past incident where there has already been an investigation. This position is presently being challenged in the courts, but no final judgment has been reached.
	However, the government is determined to get to the bottom of allegations of collusion once and for all. That is why, in May 2002, the British and Irish governments appointed the Canadian Judge Peter Cory to look at allegations into six high profile cases, including that of Billy Wright, with a view to advising what more needs to be done to establish the truth.
	If Justice Cory, an independent judge of international standing, recommends that a public inquiry needs to be established into any of those cases, then that is what the government will do.

NHS Patients (Treatment Arrangements)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many NHS patients from Northern Ireland have been sent outside the Province to (a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) Great Britain and (c) elsewhere over the past year; and what the total cost incurred has been as a result.

Des Browne: The information is as follows:
	(a) In the past year 199 patients from Northern Ireland have been sent to the Republic of Ireland for treatment.
	(b) In the past year 1,074 patients from Northern Ireland have been sent to Great Britain for treatment.
	(c) In the past year one patient from Northern Ireland was sent outside of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland for treatment.
	The total costs incurred is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

North/South Implementation Bodies

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed in each of the North/South Implementation Bodies; and what the staff costs were in each year since the bodies were established.

Des Browne: Details of the staff employed in the North/South Implementation Bodies as at 28 February 2003 together with staff costs are provided as follows.
	
		Numbers (wte) employed in cross border bodies as at 28 February 2003
		
			 Body Permanent Secondees Temporary Placements Total 
		
		
			 The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission 32 1 2 2 37 
			 Waterways Ireland 299 2 15  316 
			 The Trade and Business Development Body 35.6 1   36.6 
			 The Special EU Programmes Body 27 3   30 
			 The North/South Language Body 36 2 2  40 
			 The Food Safety Promotion Board 20 1 5 1 27 
			 Grand total 486.6 
		
	
	
		Staff costs in 200002 -- 
		
			 Body 2000(15) 2001 2002 
		
		
			 The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission 776,772 868,930 864,062 
			 Waterways Ireland 3,600,000 5,600,000 (16)5,600,000 
			 The Trade and Business Development Body 479,134 906,028 1,123,446 
			 The Special EU Programmes Body 433,409 587,574 942,418 
			 The North/South Language Body 1,158,516 1,232,190 1,325,374 
			 The Food Safety Promotion Board 139,000' 319,000 471,000 
		
	
	(15) Costs relating to 2000 cover the period 3 December 1999 to 31 December 2000.
	(16) Estimate.

Online Sales/Purchases

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were (i) bought and (ii) sold online by his Department in each of the last five years.

Paul Murphy: The following table sets out what products, goods were bought online by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years. There have been no services bought online and no online sales.
	
		
			 Financial year Products/goods 
		
		
			 199899 Specialist electronic components and IT equipment 
			 19992000 Specialist electronic components and IT equipment 
			 200001 Specialist electronic components and IT equipment 
			 200102 Specialist electronic components and IT equipment 
			 200203(17) Specialist electronic components and IT equipment 
		
	
	(17) To date.
	In addition, the Northern Ireland Office placed electronic orders via EROS (Electronic Requisitioning and Ordering System).
	EROS is not internet based but is a method for sending electronic orders, via telephone lines to contracted suppliers.
	The types of products ordered electronically on EROS over the last five years are as follows:
	Office equipment and machinery
	PCs and printers
	Miscellaneous computer equipment
	Reprographics
	Stationery, IT consumables, paper and printed material
	Publications.
	The following table sets out what products, goods and services were bought online by the Northern Ireland Administration in each of the last five years. There have been no online sales.
	
		
			 Financial year Products/goods Services 
		
		
			 199899 IT software/hardware  
			 19992000 IT software/hardware  
			 200001 IT software/hardwareBooks Stationery Flights 
			 200102 IT software/hardwareBooksStationery Flights 
			 200203(18) IT software/hardwareBooksStationery FlightsHotelAccommodation 
		
	
	(18) To date
	In addition, the Northern Ireland Administration placed electronic orders via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
	EDI is not internet based but is a method for sending electronic orders via telephone lines to contracted suppliers.
	The types of products ordered electronically on EDI over the last five years are as follows:
	Bitumen
	Courier services
	Miscellaneous computer equipment
	Office equipment and machinery
	Office machinery maintenance
	Parcel distribution
	PCs and printers
	Postage services
	Printing services
	Publications
	Reprographics
	Road signs
	Stationery, IT consumables, paper and printed material
	Storage and distribution
	Street lighting
	Tools, equipment and building materials
	Vehicle Maintenance.

Organic Farming

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made towards the target for the area of land converted to organic farming by 2006.

Ian Pearson: The Northern Ireland Rural Development Plan 20002006 included a target that, by 2006, 1,000 farmers would be managing 30,000 hectares organically. At present some 140 producers have 5,200 hectares under organic management.

Programme for International Student Assessment

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the objective is of the Programme for International Student Assessment; when it was authorised; and by whom.

Jane Kennedy: The international objective of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is to measure how well young people approaching the end of compulsory schooling are prepared to meet the challenges of today's knowledge societies. Through PISA, OECD member countries are collaborating to improve comparative indicators on the performance of education systems. Research and statistics provide the basis for sound, evidence-based policy making. The specific objective of Northern Ireland's participation, over and above enabling UK figures to be produced, is to build up a time series, independent of GCSE results and capable of international comparison, of data on how well pupils in Northern Ireland are performing in reading, maths and science.
	Participation by Northern Ireland in PISA 2000 and PISA 2003 was respectively authorised by my predecessors: Tony Worthington in October 1997 and Martin McGuinness in September 2000.

Programme for International Student Assessment

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which schools in Northern Ireland participated in the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA); on what basis these schools were selected; and what average length of time was taken for each school to complete the PISA.

Jane Kennedy: In keeping with the National Statistics Code of Practice, the identities of schools taking part in the PISA survey are confidential to the Office for National Statistics and the Central Survey Unit of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
	Schools were selected at random in proportion to the number of their pupils born in 1987. The list of schools was first stratified according to the following:
	School type (secondary/grammar/independent)
	Secondary and grammar schools were grouped further according to their GCSE results.
	All the sub-groups thus produced were divided according to the five Education and Library Board areas.
	PISA assessments and pupil questionnaires take three hours to administer. Principals are also asked to spend 40 minutes on a questionnaire about the school.

Programme for International Student Assessment

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost is of the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment.

Jane Kennedy: The estimated financial cost to the Department of Education is 267,000.

Programme for International Student Assessment

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether parents were informed of their child's participation in the Programme for International Student Assessment; and how parental consent was obtained.

Jane Kennedy: Each school that agreed to take part in the study nominated a 'School Co-ordinator' who was supplied with a 'School Co-ordinator's Manual' describing all the procedures associated with the study, from the build-up to the survey through to the administration of the test. The school co-ordinator was also provided with letters and leaflets for the parents of each child selected to take part in the survey. The letters were provided in unsealed envelopes, giving the school the option of adding a letter of their own or a reply slip. It was for the school to decide whether to send the letter and leaflet by post to the parents, or give them to the pupils to take home. The information for parents included a clear statement of what the survey was about, its voluntary nature, information for parents on how to withdraw their child from the survey, and information on what was involved and how long it would take.

Sickness Absence

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many working days have been lost due to illness in his Department in (a) 2002 and (b) each of the preceding five years.

Paul Murphy: Sick absence statistics for the Northern Ireland civil servants and the home civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office are recorded separately. Figures for home civil servants within the NIO and are recorded as days absence per are not available in the required format. The information available is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Days Sick Absence 
		
		
			 Per Staff Year  
			 1998 6.5 
			 1999 8.0 
			 2000 9.3 
			 2001 10.0 
		
	
	Sick absence statistics for NICS staff in the Northern Ireland Office are analysed by financial year as opposed to calendar year.
	The number of working days lost by NICS staff in the Northern Ireland Office due to illness was 16,394 during 200001. Comparable figures are not available for earlier years.
	The sick absence statistics for 200102 for HCS and NICS staff are to be available inthe near future.
	The Northern Ireland Office is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and arange of corporate and departmental initiatives have been and are being taken forwardto reduce the current levels of sickness absence.
	Sick absence statistics for the Northern Ireland Administration are analysed by financialyear as opposed to calendar year. Published statistics for Northern Ireland Departments for the financial year 200001 are accessible on the Department's website atwww.dfpni.gov.uk/publications.
	The number of working days lost by NI Departments due to illness was just under 320,000 during 2000/2001 with the comparable figure for 19992000 being just over 315,000. Comparable/accurate figures are not available for earlier years. The sick absence statistics for Northern Ireland Departments during 200102 are to be published in the near future and will be similarly accessible on the Department's website.
	NI Departments are committed to managing sickness absence effectively and a range of corporate and departmental initiatives have been and are being taken forward to reduce the current levels of sickness absence.

Smoking in the Workplace

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what policy his Department has adopted on smoking in the workplace.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office has a well established policy on smoking in the workplace which was first introduced in 1991 and a complete ban on smoking, apart from designated smoking rooms, has been in operation in all NIO premises since 1995. The policy has been supported through participation in the annual no-smoking day campaign and various health awareness events where professional and medical advice and information has been made available to encourage staff who smoke to give it up.
	In Belfast the Department has recently organised a self help group through the local Action Cancer charity to assist staff who wish to stop smoking.
	Within the Northern Ireland Administration smoking is not permitted in any premises occupied by NIGS staff, except in designated smoking rooms. This ban includes public offices, workshops and depots and extends to all areas including single occupancy rooms, training and conference rooms, corridors, toilets, canteens, reception areas and vehicles.

Telephone Helplines

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many telephone helplines are sponsored by his Department; and which of these helplines are charged at (a) national rate, (b) premium rate and (c) local rate.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office sponsors the following Helplines:
	
		
			 Women's Aid(19) Local or national rate depending on where call is from 
		
		
			 Confidential Telephone Freephone 
		
	
	(19) jointly funded by NIO, DHSS and the NI Housing Executive
	The Northern Ireland administration supports 43 telephone helplines. The table provides a breakdown by charge rate.
	
		
			  
		
		
			 National Rate Calls 
			 DVTA Theory Test minicom service 
			 Flood Lines Rivers Agency 
			 Parents Advice Centre Helpline 
			 Women's Aid Helpline 
			 Rape Crisis NI Helpline 
			 Premium Rate Calls 
			 DVLNI Dealer Information 
			 Local Rate Calls 
			 Waterline 
			 Waterline Textphone 
			 Roads Service Traffic Watch 
			 Local Rate Calls continued 
			 Rural Stress Helpline 
			 Forest Service 
			 Rural Development Programme Helpline 
			 Farm Census Survey 
			 Veterinary Service Hotline 
			 Peace II Helpline 
			 General Departmental Helpline 
			 Child Support Agency NI Helpline 
			 Child Support Agency Eastern Business Unit Helpline 
			 DVTA Theory Test information/booking 
			 DVTA MOT2 information 
			 DVTA fees information 
			 DELNI Vehicle Registration Hotline 
			 Non Domestic Revaluation Helpdesk 
			 Housing Benefit Collection 
			 Land Web Direct in Land Registers 
			 Land Register Customer Information Line 
			 Freephone 
			 Student Careline 
			 Course Enquiries 
			 Fraud Hotline 
			 Departmental Programmes Helpline 
			 New Deal for Disabled Persons Helpline 
			 The learndirect Helpline 
			 Community Relations 
			 Victims 
			 Retirement Pension 
			 The Organs Enquiry line 
			 National Drugs Helpline 
			 Drinkline 
			 Childline 
			 Smoking Cessation Telephone Helpline 
			 National AIDS Helpline 
			 Child Dental Health Survey 
			 Housing Benefit Collection Re-assessments

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many adult students in further education colleges are studying for (a) a vocational and (b) an academic qualification at (i) level 1, (ii) level 2, (iii) level 3 and (iv) level 4 or above in each of the Learning and Skills Council areas.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested and will place a copy of his reply in the Library.

Curriculum

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which core subjects make up the core curriculum of the National Curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The core subjects of the National Curriculum are English, mathematics and science. The non-core foundation subjects of the National Curriculum are history, geography, design and technology, modern foreign languages, information and communication technology, art and design, music, physical education and citizenship. There is also a requirement for schools to teach religious education, sex education and careers education as part of the wider school curriculum.

Early Years Education

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many three-year-olds had free early years education places providing five or more sessions of education per week in each year since 1997, broken down by Local Education Authority.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 24 March 2003
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	The latest figures on early years provision in England were published by my Department in the Statistical Bulletin 08/02 Provision For Children Under Five Years Of Age In EnglandJanuary 2002, copies of which are available from the Library and my Department's web-site, www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics.

Financial Returns

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the average lifetime financial return of (a) a single female, (b) a married female, (c) a married man, (d) a member of an ethnic minority and (e) those who were on full maintenance support at university.

Margaret Hodge: The Department has not made any estimates of the average lifetime financial return for the specific groups named. Higher education is a good investment and the White Paper, The Future of Higher Education, highlighted how those with higher education qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates. There will inevitably be some variation in individual lifetime returns because graduate earnings are influenced by a number of factors, including subject studied, institution attended, occupational choices, and other personal characteristics and demographic factors.

Financial Returns

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what research the Government has carried out to compare lifetime earnings of graduates with those who had the qualifications to go to university but chose not to;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the average lifetime financial return of (a) a university graduate and (b) a person with two A levels.

Margaret Hodge: The White Paper, The Future of Higher Education, highlighted how those with higher education qualifications earn on average around 50 per cent. more than non-graduates. Higher education is undoubtedly a good investment. Our estimate of the average additional earnings of those who get two or more 'A' Levels but choose not to go to university is 120,000.
	However, nine out of 10 of those who obtain two or more 'A' Levels go to university. We have no analysis of how the small minority of one in 10 differ from the majority, so comparisons should be treated with caution.

Jamia Rehmania

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what applications for financial help have been made to the Learning and Skills Council since its inception by Jamia Rehmania.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 27 March 2003
	Information about requests for funding received by the Learning Skills Council (LSC) is the responsibility of the Council. John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will reply to the hon. Member providing the information requested, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Higher Education

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people entered higher education from (a) Doncaster, (b) Barnsley and (c) South Yorkshire in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The latest available information is shown in the table.
	
		Accepted applicants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate course by area of home residence
		
			  Year of entry 
			 Students from: 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Doncaster 991 1,000 1,036 1,005 1,180 1,070 
			 Barnsley 685 732 751 836 856 776 
			 South Yorkshire(20) 5,168 4,833 4,803 4,965 5,321 5,237 
		
	
	(20) Includes students from Doncaster, Barnsley, Sheffield and Rotherham.
	Source:
	Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Higher Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research studies are available to her Department on the educational value added of higher education courses, classified by type of secondary school attended by the student and broken down into (a) independent schools, (b) state grammar schools, (c) other state selection schools and (d) comprehensive schools, and assessed for (i) individual institutions, (ii) individual years of tertiary study and (iii) completed first degree courses.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 24 March 2003
	Research that looks at the educational value added of higher education courses, classified by type of secondary school attended by the student includes:
	Schooling Effects on Subsequent University Performance: Evidence for the UK University Population 2002 Robin Naylor and Jeremy Smith University of Warwick Working Paper;
	Determinants of individual degree performance in UK universities: with particular reference to Economics 1999 Robin Naylor and Jeremy Smith University of Warwick;
	Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: The Case of University Students in England and Wales 2002 Robert McNabb, Sarmistha Pal and Peter Sloane Economica; and
	Interim findings on the effects of school performance on higher education achievement HEFCE presented at UUK's Fair Enough conference January 2003. A fuller report will be published later this year.
	This research shows that, on average, individuals that attend state schools do as well at university, for example, in terms of class of degree, as individuals who do better at A-level but attend Independent schools.
	The Department is not aware of research that looks at how the educational value added of higher education by school type varies by institution or by years of tertiary education. However, some universities have conducted their own research in this field. For example, research at Bristol University found that on the whole, of all the students who entered the University of Bristol with excellent A levels, those who came from weaker schools gained better degrees than the students from stronger schools (School Performance and the Likelihood of getting into Bristol by Jeff Odell in 1999).

Higher Education

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the levels of participation in higher education were in each education authority in (a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) 2000.

Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Tyneside, North (Mr. Byers) on 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 95W, which contains the available data on HE participation for each LEA since 1994. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available centrally.

Infant Classes

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average infant class size in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk, (c) Essex and (d) Cambridgeshire was in each year since 1977.

David Miliband: Information on infant class size has been collected in the September Class Size Count which started in 1998. The available figures are shown in the table.
	
		Maintained Primary Schools: Infant class sizes taught by one teacher -- Position in September each year
		
			  Average infant class size 
			 By local education authority 1998(22) 1999(23) 2000(23) 2001(23) 2002(23) 
		
		
			 Suffolk(21) 24.1 23.1 22.9 22.8 22.7 
			 Norfolk 26.1 23.5 23.0 22.7 22.9 
			 Essex(21) 26.4 24.7 24.2 23.9 24.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 27.7 26.5 25.7 25.5 25.1 
		
	
	(21) In 2000, less than 95 per cent. of expected returns were received from these local education authorities.
	(22) For Essex and Cambridgeshire, before Local Government reorganisation.
	(23) For Essex and Cambridgeshire, after Local Government reorganisation.
	Source:
	September Class Size Count

Learning and Skills Council Areas

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) young people aged 19 or under and (b) adults are studying in further education colleges in each of the 47 Learning and Skills Council areas in England.

Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested and will place a copy of his reply in the Library.

New Deal for Schools

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will list for (a) England and (b) each local education authority, the (i) number and (ii) value of funding bids made to his Department under the New Deal for Schools programme in each financial year since 19992000 for the repair of school buildings;
	(2)  if he will list the total value of grants made by each local education authority in England to schools, through the New Deal for Schools, for the repair of school buildings for the latest date for which figures are available.

David Miliband: holding answer 24 March 2003
	Information available on the number of bids, their value, and the allocations made to the original bid-based New Deal for Schools (NDS 14) programme to 200001 is shown in a table which has been placed in the Library, together with formulaic allocations from 200001. The Department currently allocates most capital funding to schools and local education authorities (LEAs) by needs-related formulae, and it is for LEAs to assess and prioritise the capital needs of their school buildings through their asset management planning process, in consultation with local schools.
	I am also announcing today further allocations of capital funding for schools from the totals that are available over the next three years.
	There will be 15 private finance initiative (PFI) projects with a total allocation of 830 million PFI credits, in response to the invitation we made in 2002 to all LEAs to apply for this funding. I am also establishing four LEA pathfinders, to be funded through PFI credits, to help develop the Building Schools for the Future programme. In total, this represents around 1 billion of support to schools PFI projects.
	There will be Targeted Capital funding to 78 LEA projects totalling 199 million at 71 LEAs, and 146 million of support for 56 projects in voluntary aided schools at 41 LEAs, which should start in 200304. These projects support our educational priorities, including promoting inclusion, advancing the 1419 agenda, and standards-led investment at schools causing concern.
	We are also allocating a new formulaic Modernisation programme of just over 1 billion in 200405 and 717 million in 200506. The new programme brings together the existing Condition and Modernisation programmes and will include 300 million of funding in each year targeted at building needs in primary schools to encourage up to 25 per cent. more investment in that sector.

Ofsted

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) staff and (b) staff engaged in inspection work have been employed by the Office for Standards in Education in each year since 1997.

David Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. The Chief Inspector, David Bell will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library.

Overseas Students

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many overseas students there were at each university in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001 and (d) 2002; and what percentage of the student body this represented in each case.

Margaret Hodge: The latest available information shown in the table has been placed in the Library.

Qualifications

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of the working population in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk, (c) Essex and (d) Cambridgeshire had (i) no qualification and (ii) no qualification above NVQ Level 2 in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is presented in the table.
	
		Table 1: The Level of Highest Qualification Held by People of Working Age(24)for Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire Local Education Authorities, Local Labour Force Survey 200001 and 200102(25) -- Percentage
		
			  Suffolk Norfolk Essex Cambridgeshire 
		
		
			 200102 
			 Level 2(26) 24.0 23.6 24.3 20.6 
			 Below Level 2(27) 21.0 24.3 20.6 21.8 
			 No qualifications 16.7 15.6 17.8 14.1 
			 No qualifications above Level 2 61.7 63.5 62.8 56.5 
			  
			 200001 
			 Level 2(26) 22.7 24.5 23.8 20.3 
			 Below Level 2(27) 22.6 23.9 21.4 18.5 
			 No qualifications 19.6 14.8 17.5 13.8 
			 No qualifications above Level 2 64.9 63.2 62.7 52.7 
		
	
	(24) Working Age is defined as males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.
	(25) The Local Labour Force Survey was first made available in 200001, and therefore, data prior to this year are not available.
	(26) Vocational qualifications include those with RSA Diplomas, City and Guilds Craft/part 2, BTEC Firsts or trade apprenticeships and other professional or vocational qualifications at Level 2. Academic qualifications include those with one GCE A Level, five or more GCSE grades A*C or equivalent or AS examinations/SCE Highers/CSYS at Level 2.
	(27) Vocational qualifications include those with BTEC general certificates, YT certificates, other RSA qualifications, other City and Guilds or other professional or vocational qualifications at Level 1. Academic qualifications include those with one or more GCSE grade G or equivalent (but less than five at grades A*C).
	Source:
	Local Labour Force Survey (LLFS): 200001 and 200102.

Student Finance

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Bradley), on 24 February, Official Report, column 346W, what percentage of students were eligible for student support in the years listed; and how many and what percentage of students were eligible for student support in each region of England.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 18 March 2003
	The percentage of students domiciled in England and Wales who were assessed as eligible for full support in academic years 1996/97 to 2000/01 is shown in the table. Data do not include students who received partial support.
	
		Percentage of all eligible students assessed to receive full student support in England and Wales(28) -- Academic years 199697 to 200001(29)
		
			  Academic year 
			  199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001(29) 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Student Support Scheme Students(30),(31) 
			 Dependent students(32)   35.1 36.9 33.6 
			 Independent students(33)   87.7 88.3 88.6 
			 Total all students   44.8 45.1 42.2 
			   
			 Mandatory Scheme Students(34) 
			 Dependent students(32) 33.4 33.0 31.7 31.8 29.6 
			 Independent students(33) 84.8 84.8 82.3 83.6 83.7 
			 Total all students 44.8 43.8 40.9 40.1 37.1 
			   
			 All Students  
			 Dependent students(32) 33.4 33.0 32.7 34.9 33.0 
			 Independent students(33) 84.8 84.8 84.0 86.5 88.1 
			 Total all students 44.8 43.8 42.1 43.2 41.5 
		
	
	(28) Support assessed by local education authorities in England and Wales to students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
	(29) Provisional
	(30) Includes some students (eg PGCEs) who were assessed to make no contribution to the cost of their tuition but who may have been assessed to make a contribution to other forms of support.
	(31) New students in 199899 received support for maintenance through income-assessed grants (comprising about a quarter of the support available) and non income-assessed student loans (comprising about three quarters of the support available). (The ratio for existing students is roughly 50 per cent. means-tested grant and 50 per cent. non means-tested student loan). In 19992000, students who entered higher education from 199899 onwards received support for maintenance entirely though loans, of which three quarters of the value was non income-assessed. Loans made under these arrangements are repayable on an income contingent basis.
	(32) Dependent students are assessed for support based on the income of their parents and of the students themselves.
	(33) Independent students are assessed for support based on their own income and that of their spouse/partner. A student is regarded as independent if he/she is aged 25 or over before the start of the academic year for which they are applying; have been married for at least two years before the start of the academic year for which they are applying or have support themselves for at least three years before the start of their course.
	(34) Students who entered higher education up to 199798, and those who entered in 199899 to whom the mandatory scheme funding arrangements applied, received support for maintenance through income-assessed grants.
	Source:
	F503G Student Support Survey
	The number and percentage of mandatory scheme students in England, shown by Government Office Region, who were eligible for full support in academic years 199697 and 199798, are shown in the tables. Data on student support are collected for publication at national level; the data collection exercise from 1998/99 does not allow the production of firm figures below this level, and therefore data by Government Office Region are not available from academic years 199899.
	
		Number of all eligible students(35) assessed to receive full student support in academic years 199697 and 199798England: Government Office Region(36) -- Thousands
		
			  Dependent students(37) Independent students(38) All students 
			  199697 199798 199697 199798 199697 199798 
		
		
			 England 186.3 188.2 135.7 129.1 321.9 317.3 
			 North East 8.9 9.0 6.6 6.5 15.5 15.4 
			 North West 27.6 28.6 20.5 19.4 48.1 48.0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 17.9 17.7 12.1 12.4 30.1 30.1 
			 East Midlands 14.2 14.4 9.2 9.1 23.4 23.5 
			 West Midlands 22.3 22.2 12.1 11.3 34.5 33.5 
			 East of England 16.8 17.2 11.6 10.9 28.3 28.1 
			 Inner London 12.8 13.2 17.4 16.0 30.2 29.2 
			 Outer London 19.7 20.3 14.5 13.5 34.2 33.8 
			 South East 26.7 26.2 18.7 17.3 45.4 43.5 
			 South West 19.3 19.5 14.0 12.8 33.3 32.4 
		
	
	(35) Student numbers rounded to the nearest thousand.
	(36) Support assessed by local education authorities in England to students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
	(37) Dependent students are assessed for support based on the income of their parents and of the students themselves.
	(38) Independent students are assessed for support based on their own income and that of their spouse/partner. A student is regarded as independent if he/she is aged 25 or over before the start of the academic year for which they are applying; have been married for at least two years before the start of the academic year for which they are applying or have supported themselves for at least three years before the start of the academic year of their course.
	Source :
	F503G Student Support Survey
	
		Percentage of all eligible students assessed to receive full student support in academic years 199697 and 199798England: Government Office Region(39) -- Percentage
		
			  Dependent students(40) Independent students(41) All students 
			  199697 199798 199697 199798 199697 199798 
		
		
			 England 33 33 85 85 45 44  
			 North East 33 34 84 86 45 46 
			 North West 36 36 87 86 48 47 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 35 34 82 85 46 45 
			 East Midlands 31 31 85 84 42 41 
			 West Midlands 37 35 87 85 46 44 
			 East of England 28 28 82 80 38 37 
			 Inner London 52 52 90 90 69 68 
			 Outer London 34 34 86 85 46 45 
			 South East 26 25 81 79 36 35 
			 South West 35 35 87 87 47 46 
		
	
	(39) Support assessed by local education authorities in England to students normally domiciled in their area and studying in the UK.
	(40) Dependent students are assessed for support based on the income of their parents and of the students themselves.
	(41) Independent students are assessed for support based on their own income and that of their spouse/partner. A student is regarded as independent if he/she is aged 25 or over before the start of the academic year for which they are applying; have been married for at least two years before the start of the academic year for which they are applying or have supported themselves for at least three years before the start of the academic year of their course.
	Source:
	F503G student support survey of local education authorities

Student Profiles

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in the 200203 intake in higher education in England and Wales are estimated to come from families with an income under (a) 10,000 and (b) 20,480 per annum.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is currently not available. I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 357W.

Student Profiles

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students in the 200203 higher education intake estimated to have come from households with family income of less than 10,000 are (i) under the age of 21, (ii) under the age of 25, (iii) under the age of 30 and (iv) over the age of 30.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is currently not available. I refer my hon. Friend to the response given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) on 6 February 2003, Official Report, column 357W.

Teacher Retention

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers stopped teaching in each of the last 10 years for reasons other than retirement; and what the average length of service of such teachers was in each of those years.

David Miliband: Table 1 shows the number of teachers leaving 1 , 2 full-time or part-time 3 service in the maintained schools sector in England who did not enter retirement, by age at the end of the financial year in which they left service, for 199091 to 200001.
	Table 2 shows the average length of service of these teachers at the end of the financial year in which they left service, by age at the end of that year, for 199394 4 to 200001.
	
		Table 1Numbers leaving service by age at 31 March
		
			  025 2530 3035 3540 4045 4550 5055 5560 Total 
		
		
			 1991 570 4,430 4,620 5,730 5,820 3,470 1,880 910 27,420 
			 1992 430 3,700 3,650 4,550 4,870 3,220 1,540 860 22,830 
			 1993 350 3,290 2,950 3,750 4,270 3,000 1,470 770 19,850 
			 1994 280 3,180 3,170 3,410 4,450 3,450 1,550 830 20,310 
			 1995 370 3,300 3,250 3,160 3,890 3,370 1,540 750 19,620 
			 1996 420 3,650 3,410 2,920 3,690 3,600 1,550 750 20,000 
			 1997 410 3,570 3,260 2,580 3,170 3,230 1,670 720 18,600 
			 1998 470 4,020 3,890 2,930 3,650 4,180 2,300 790 22,220 
			 1999 530 4,570 4,040 2,980 3,290 4,200 2,860 1,090 23,560 
			 2000 510 4,690 4,350 3,380 3,500 4,510 3,650 1,440 26,020 
			 2001 530 4,570 4,390 3,180 3,030 4,170 4,000 1,740 25,610 
		
	
	
		Table 2Average length of service (years) of those leaving service by age at 31 March
		
			  025 2530 3035 3540 4045 4550 5055 5560 Total(46) 
		
		
			 1994 1.2 3.0 5.9 9.1 11.5 13.9 15.9 17.9 9.8 
			 1995 1.3 3.1 5.8 9.1 11.8 14.1 15.9 18.6 9.8 
			 1996 1.2 3.0 5.7 8.7 11.2 14.1 15.9 18.5 9.5 
			 1997 1.3 3.0 5.8 8.7 11.5 14.5 16.2 20.2 9.7 
			 1998 1.2 3.0 5.8 8.5 11.7 15.1 16.9 19.1 10.0 
			 1999 1.2 3.0 5.7 8.4 11.8 15.4 17.7 20.7 10.3 
			 2000 1.3 3.0 5.7 8.4 11.6 15.4 18.2 21.7 10.7 
			 2001 1.2 3.1 5.9 8.7 11.5 15.8 19.6 22.8 11.4 
		
	
	(42) Leavers are those qualified regular teachers who were in full-time or part-time service in the maintained schools sector in England at 31 March of the previous year, who were not in service in that sector and had not entered retirement at 31 March of the year shown.
	(43) The information is from Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) returns. The scheme covers the maintained schools sector plus some of the independent, further education and higher education sectors. Teachers shown as leaving regular service in the maintained sector in England may have moved to:
	other service that is recorded on the scheme, e.g. service in some independent schools or service in Wales;
	service that is not recorded, for example higher education establishments that are not in the TPS, these will appear to have left teaching service.Some leavers will be taking career breaks and will return to service at a later date.
	(44) Around 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-timers may not be included.
	(45) Length of service information is not available for years 199091 to 199293.
	(46) Teachers leaving service at the age of 60 or over who are not recorded as entering retirement have not been included in Table 1, since teachers who leave the scheme after the retirement age of 60 automatically qualify for retirement benefits. However, such teachers have been included in the 'Total' average length of service calculation in Table 2.

Teacher Retention

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers were granted early retirement on the grounds of ill health in each year since 1998.

David Miliband: Ill health retirements from the maintained schools sector in England are shown in table 44 of the 2002 edition of 'Statistics of Education: School Workforce in England'. A copy of this volume has been placed in the Library. The table is also available on the statistics section of the DfES website at: www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/VOL/v0380/456-t44.htm.
	
		Table 44: RetirementsRetirements from the maintained schools sector(47): Type of award and sex by year of award: England
		
			  Premature(48) Age Ill-health(49) Total 
			 Financial year(1 April to 31 March) Men Women Men and women Men Women Men and women Men Women Men and women Men Women Men and women 
		
		
			 198990 3,220 4,840 8,060 960 2,550 3,500 1,270 2,310 3,580 5,440 9,700 15,140 
			 199091 3,000 4,740 7,740 890 2,610 3,500 1,420 2,860 4,280 5,310 10,210 15,520 
			 199192 2,470 4,070 6,530 810 2,360 3,170 1,390 2,640 4,030 4,660 9,070 13,730 
			 199293 2,760 4,400 7,170 750 2,560 3,310 1,440 2,610 4,050 4,950 9,580 14,530 
			 199394 3,180 4,860 8,030 850 2,580 3,430 1,840 2,990 4,820 5,860 10,420 16,290 
			 199495 2,730 4,390 7,120 780 2,740 3,520 1,970 3,310 5,290 5,490 10,440 15,930 
			 199596 3,360 5,240 8,600 760 2,720 3,480 1,870 3,290 5,160 5,990 11,250 17,240 
			 199697 3,840 6,370 10,210 700 2,600 3,290 1,810 3,170 4,980 6,350 12,130 18,480 
			 199798(48) 4,400 7,090 11,490 770 2,740 3,510 1,210 2,090 3,300 6,380 11,920 18,300 
			 199899 970 1,450 2,420 790 2,950 3,740 860 1,460 2,320 2,620 5,860 8,480 
			 19992000 1,150 1,530 2,670 930 3,260 4,190 870 1,480 2,350 2,940 6,270 9,210 
			 200001 1,280 1,910 3,190 950 3,200 4,150 1,040 1,610 2,650 3,270 6,720 9,990 
			 200102(50) 1,330 2,160 3,490 970 3,140 4,120 910 1,440 2,350 3,210 6,750 9,950 
		
	
	(47) Excludes sixth form colleges.
	(48) The effect of the change in the Teachers' Pension Scheme as from 31 August 1997 was that many more teachers took early retirement in 1997 than in previous years. Premature includes Actuarially Reduced Benefit retirements from 200001.
	(49) Changes in the statutory regulations governing ill-health retirement came into force on 1 April 1997. To qualify for ill-health retirement benefits a teacher must now be regarded as permanently unfit to teach.
	(50) 200102 data are provisional.
	Source:
	Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS)

Teacher Retention

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of teachers were aged 45 or over in (a) 2002, (b) 1997, (c) 1992, (d) 1987 and (e) 1982.

David Miliband: The table provides age breakdowns of teachers in full-time service.
	
		Percentage of teachers by age(51)
		
			 Year of service(March) Under 30 3044 45 and over 
		
		
			 1982(52) 23 46 31 
			 1987(53) 14 53 32 
			 1992(54) 13 50 37 
			 1997(54) 17 40 43 
			 2001(54),(55) 19 35 46 
		
	
	(51) Age as at 31 March in each year shown.
	(52) Full-time teachers in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. Includes teachers in sixth form colleges.
	(53) Full-time teachers in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in England. Includes teachers in sixth form colleges.
	(54) Full-time teachers in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in England. Excludes teachers in sixth form colleges.
	(55) 2001 is the most recent year for which these data are available.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded and may not appear to sum to 100 per cent.

Tuition Fees

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills from which universities he has received representations recommending the setting of tuition fee levels at above 3,000 per annum; and what those representations were.

Margaret Hodge: We have received a number of representations on a wide range of issues. In setting the cap at 3,000 per annum, we wanted to balance giving the higher education sector the freedom to raise fees with fairness to prospective students and their families.

Universities (Participation)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much money will be allocated to widening participation in universities in each academic year to 201011.

Margaret Hodge: The Higher Education Funding Council for England is providing 296.2 million for widening participation in higher education in 200304. The Learning and Skills Council is also providing 15.6 million for widening participation in higher education in 200304. That is a total of 311.8 million for widening participation in higher education in 200304.
	These figures do not include funding for targeted student support. The Councils have not set their widening participation spending for future years.

University Research Funding

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much HEFCE funding of research will be diverted from university departments graded (a) at 4 and (b) below 4 annually to finance enhanced payments for departments graded at 5 or above.

Margaret Hodge: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has used extra resources provided by the Government to increase the total recurrent funding for research by 102 million in 200304 compared with 200203. HEFCE has re-balanced the funding levels between ratings to ensure better resourcing and improved quality of the best research. This did mean a reduction in funding of 21 million for departments rated 4 and a net reduction of 4.3 million for departments rated 3a and 3b. This takes into account the new capability development funding for 3a and 3b departments in subjects where there is a particular need to boost research. The Government are keen to encourage more mid-rated departments to aspire to ratings of 5 or above and we have asked HEFCE to look at how funding for these departments can be related to potential to progress further.

HEALTH

Delayed Discharges

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost of delayed discharges to the NHS in (a) the Bury St. Edmunds constituency and (b) Suffolk in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much delayed discharge of patients cost the NHS (a) nationally, (b) in Suffolk West PCT and (c) in Central Suffolk PCT in the last year for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: Information is not available in precisely the form requested. In the last year for which figures are available, up to December 2002, there was an average of 5,233 delayed transfers of care of patients of all ages, on any single day, in England. However there are only figures available at a primary care trust level for the first three quarters of 200203, (April to December 2002) when the average number of patients delayed on any one day was 32 in Suffolk West PCT, and 18 in Central Suffolk PCT. On the same basis the average figure for all the PCTs in Suffolk was 130 per day.
	On the basis of an average cost to the national health service of 100 per day, the broad estimate of the cost to the NHS where these patients have experienced delays in an acute hospital bed for this period is around 500,000 per day for England as a whole, 3,200 per day in Suffolk West PCT and 1,800 per day in Central Suffolk PCT. The estimate for all PCTs in Suffolk is 13,000 per day.

GPs

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many potential registered patients are required to justify authority for establishing a GP practice in Edenfield, Rossendale.

Jacqui Smith: The decision on whether there is a need to establish a general practitioner practice is at the discretion of the primary care trust.

Head and Brain Injury Rehabilitation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the decision was taken to devolve commissioning responsibility for head and brain injury rehabilitation services to health authorities and primary care trusts; and what assessment he is undertaking of the impact of that devolution on service provision.

Jacqui Smith: In October 2002 the NHS Reform and Healthcare Professions Act provided for most of the functions of the health authorities to be conferred onto primary care trusts (PCTs) and for health service resources to be allocated directly to PCTs by the Secretary of State. PCTs are expected to establish collaborative commissioning arrangements for specialised services, of which head and brain injury rehabilitation services are one, and strategic health authorities are expected to oversee and performance manage these arrangements.

Health Services (East Yorkshire)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) direct and (b) indirect costs are for the (i) establishment and (ii) operation of the Strategic Health Authority headquarters in York.

Jacqui Smith: The creation of the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority (StHA) was part of the Government's 'Shifting the Balance of Power in the NHS' proposals, which were committed to delivering savings of 100 million for re-investment in services.
	The establishment of the StHA was within this national programme and included a period of 'shadow' running during 200102 while the three former health authorities were dissolved and responsibilities transferred to the new organisation. During this period, temporary office space was rented in the York Science Park at a cost of approximately 3,500, to facilitate the establishment of the StHA.
	The StHA was established on 1 April 2002 with a ceiling for operating costs of 4 million set by the Department. In the financial year 200203, expenditure is forecast to be 3.3 million. This comprises payroll costs of .9 million and non-pay costs of 1.4 million.

Health Services (East Yorkshire)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) current and (b) proposed PFI projects for the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust.

Jacqui Smith: There are three current or completed Private Finance Initiative projects for Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust.
	The Maternity and Acute Development at Hull Royal Infirmary has a capital value of 22 million and enables the rationalisation of clinical services onto a major hospital site. The first patients are due to attend in early April 2003.
	The reprovision of out-patient, radiology and urology services at Castle Hill in Cottingham, with a capital value of 8 million, was opened in spring 2002.
	The Withernsea Community Hospital and Resource Centre, with a capital value of 3 million, opened in November 1998.
	There is one planned PFI project for the trust. The development of a new integrated oncology and clinical haematology centre at Castle Hill Hospital has a capital value of 53 million and was put out to tender in November 2002.

Health Services (East Yorkshire)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with NHS services in each of the last five years in the area covered by the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust.

Jacqui Smith: Information on the number of patients registered with the national health service is not available on an NHS trust basis. The table shows the number of patients registered across the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority area for the last five years, and the number of patients registered with local primary care trusts since they were established in 1999.
	
		Patients of Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs)(56) for North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority as at 1 October 199799 and 30 September 200001 -- Numbers (headcount)
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 England Patients of UPEs 50,904,322 51,110,352 50,894,064 51,332,917 51,249,672 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire StHA 1,655,197 1,631,540 1,653,512 1,648,770 1,639,945 
			 East Yorkshire PCT   147,325 146,709 145,743 
			 Eastern Hull PCT   124,804 123,813 119,914 
			 West Hull PCT   162,587 160,276 162,393 
		
	
	(56) UPEs include QMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPsNote:Data has been converted to match Strategic Health Authority structures for 2002Source:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Nursing Homes

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of nursing home beds in Suffolk.

Jacqui Smith: I understand that Suffolk county council has recently agreed a 5 per cent. fee increase in care home fees across the board. In 200203, a new investment of 92,000 enabled the council to provide 22 additional places in local council specialist provision for people with mental health needs.
	Over the next three years, the Government will increase the funding for social services by an annual average of six per cent. in real terms. Councils can use some of these extra resources to raise care home fees and thereby stimulate extra supply if that is what is required locally.

Parliamentary Questions

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham can expect answers to his Questions Ref 96033, 96059 of 3 February, 97861, 97882 of 10 February and 100554, 100512, 100555, 100416 of 26 February.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the replies that I gave him on 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 882W, on 4 March 2003, Official Report, column 4601W, and column 996W and on 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 672W. I also refer him to the replies given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Mr. Lammy) on 6 March 2003, Official Report, columns. 1212W, 1215W, and 12178W. The remaining question was answered by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office (Mr. Hilary Benn) on 7 March 2003, Official Report, column 1276W.

Waiting Times

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what percentage of patients waited less than 20 minutes for thrombolysis after arriving in hospital in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each NHS trust at the latest date for which statistics are available;
	(2)  what percentage of patients waited less than 20 minutes for thrombolysis after arriving in hospital in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each NHS trust in each period for which statistics have been collected centrally.

Hazel Blears: Statistics on the time patients wait for thrombolysis are collected through the Myocardial Infarct National Audit Project (MINAP) run by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). MINAP shows that for the last three months of 2002, 44 per cent. of clinically eligible heart attack patients in England were treated within 20 minutes of hospital arrival, an increase of 24 per cent. over the same period in 2000. The data for strategic health authorities and hospitals in England where heart attack patients are treated are available online to individual health authorities and trusts for monitoring purposes. The RCP published the data covering the first six months of 2002 on 19 November 2002 and copies of the report will be placed in the Library. The RCP plans a further publication which will include the full 2002 dataset later this year.

CABINET OFFICE

East Timor

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to release Cabinet Office papers from 197576 concerning Indonesia, East Timor and the Balebo killings.

Douglas Alexander: All Cabinet Office records are considered for release to the Public Record Office under the 30 year rule. 197576 papers are, therefore, due to be released in 200607. The Cabinet Office archive, however, does not contain papers relating to the Balebo killings.

Pensions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which his Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme is an unfunded public service pension scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. The last scheme valuation, disclosed in the Report of the Actuary in the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts 200102 (HC355), valued scheme liabilities at 31 March 2002 as 64.2 billion.

TREASURY

Air Taxes (Northern Ireland Economy)

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of taxation on air travel upon the Northern Ireland economy and the tourist industry; and if he will abolish air passenger duty.

John Healey: The Government are currently reviewing their use of economic instruments in the aviation sector. As outlined in the document Aviation and the EnvironmentUsing Economic Instruments, it is the Government's objective that aviation should be sustainable.

Children at Risk

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has through the plans set out in the Children at Risk Green Paper to ensure that support services for adults are provided to their families at times of crisis through (a) the criminal justice system, (b) the health system, (c) housing departments and (d) the benefits system.

Paul Boateng: While it is too early to comment in detail on the content of the Green Paper, Government recognises the importance of ensuring that services for parents are sensitive to the needs of their children.
	(a) The Home Office is currently taking forward work on children of offenders and children of drug users. Both these pieces of work will feed into the Green Paper.
	(b) The supporting people programme, which begins on 1 April, will put in place a strategic framework for the planning and funding of housing-related support services at a local level. Proposals from the Children at Risk Green Paper will complement the role of supporting people to ensure that families in crisis get the support they need to live independently in accommodation.
	(c) The Children's National Service Framework (NSF) now in progress is currently developing national standards across the National Health Service and social services for children and young people. The Children in Special Circumstances Expert Working Group to the NSF is looking at how children are affected by the needs of their parents in cases where there is domestic violence, parent with mental health problems and parents in prison.
	(d) The Government is committed to tackling child poverty. As a result of personal tax and benefit reforms introduced by the Government since 1997, by April 2003, families with children in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average, 2,400 a year better off in real terms.

Children at Risk

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what plans he has through the recommendations in the Green Paper on Children at Risk, to ensure that every child with complex needs, with particular reference to mental health needs, has a key worker;
	(2)  what plans he has to improve mental health training for professionals working with children, as part of the plans set out in the Green Paper on Children at Risk.

Paul Boateng: Positive mental health is vital for children and young people's self esteem, relationships with friends and family and ability to enjoy and achieve at school and beyond. The Green Paper on Children at Risk is focusing on children from 019 and particularly those with complex needs.
	The Green Paper is also looking at ways to improve common training, including in mental health issues for professionals who work with children and young people. This includes considering the possible role of key workers in ensuring more integrated service provision to those most at risk.

Children at Risk

Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Green Paper Team on Children at Risk plans to introduce a transition to parenthood programme as an early preventative strategy.

Paul Boateng: Government recognises that parenting and family support is a key preventative service, which is provided in order to enable parents, carers and families to use resources effectively. Local preventative strategies cover parenting support and these are on-going at the moment.
	The Green Paper on Children at Risk will build on ongoing work across government, looking at how parents can be enabled to support their children best, from preparing for parenthood, throughout the key early years and as their children grow towards adulthood.

Commodity Price Projections

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research was commissioned by his Department into the future of (a) oil and (b) non-oil commodity prices as outlined in paragraph A15 in the pre-Budget report, Cm 5664.

Ruth Kelly: The Government do not publish forecasts for oil and non-oil commodity prices. Projections for the public finances are based on an oil price assumption independently audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, which was deemed to be reasonable and to incorporate caution when audited at the time of the 2002 pre-Budget report.

Company Profits

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions have been used to form the expectation in paragraph 2.44 of the pre-Budget Report 2002 that financial company profits will return to trend in the medium term.

Ruth Kelly: Financial company profits have been depressed by the downturn in international capital markets and global economic uncertainty. However, there is no reason to expect these shortfalls to be permanent, and profits are expected to return towards their medium-term trends as recovery in the world economy becomes more firmly established and gathers pace.

Crown Estate

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2003, Official Report, column 491W, on the Crown Estate, when the Government last made an assessment of the level of charges levied by the Crown Estate.

Paul Boateng: I am satisfied that the Crown Estate Commissioners exercise their statutory duties under the Crown Estate Act in the light of the commercial environment faced by Crown Estate tenants and the requirements of good management. Crown Estate and Treasury officials meet periodically to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Customs and Excise

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where the four new national strike teams of Customs officers, whose priority will be meat and animal products, will be based; how many officers each team will comprise; and whether they will be responsible to (a) the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and (b) Her Majesty's Treasury.

John Healey: Customs will have responsibility for the detection of undeclared meat and animal products arriving from non-EU locations. Present assessments suggest that risk for this third-country traffic is currently highest in respect of air passengers.
	The new national detection teams will operate throughout the UK according to risk assessment.
	Customs' strategic approach to tackling this problem is agreed with DEFRA who retain the animal health policy lead.
	Customs detection staff tackling the smuggling of meat and animal products will be responsible to the Commissioners of HM Customs and Excise and to Treasury Ministers, as for all other assigned matters.

Customs and Excise

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will make a statement about co-operation with the wine, spirit and beer sector and HM Customs and Excise in tackling revenue loss through freight smuggling and diversion fraud;
	(2)  if he will promote the development of a Memorandum of Understanding between the wine, spirit and beer trade and HM Customs and Excise in order to combat illicit imports and inward diversion fraud.

John Healey: Customs and the industry currently work together via the Joint Spirits Fraud Task Force (JSFTF) and the Joint Alcohol and Tobacco Consultation Group (JATCG); both joint initiatives aim to identify practical and regulatory ways of tackling revenue loss through freight smuggling and diversion fraud.
	This has already resulted in a number of practical measures to tackle fraud, including providing testing kits to help Customs identify counterfeit products and allowing front-line officers to call up instant information about suspect consignments they have intercepted. Customs will build on this good initial progress and will continue to explore with the industry what new steps might be taken to keep pace with the changing tactics of fraudsters, and what further support the industry can provide.
	The drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding is part of the on-going work of the JSFTF. Although it concentrates on spirits fraud, many of the practical measures that it implements will apply equally to wine and beer.

Equity Release Products

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what resources the Treasury has allocated to address the question of regulating reversionary equity release products, with particular reference to (a) taking the advice of Counsel and (b) engaging parliamentary draftsmen;
	(2)  what steps the Government is taking in consulting on regulating reversionary equity release products; and whether it intends that the introduction of such regulation will coincide with the regulation of mortgage-based schemes;
	(3)  what assessment the Government has made, in the absence of regulation of reversionary equity release products, of the risk to consumer confidence in the overall equity release market;
	(4)  what assessment the Government has made of the extent to which partial regulation of equity release products is acting as a barrier to entry.

Ruth Kelly: As announced in the Government's Green Paper on Pensions, the Government is looking at the options to create a level playing field for the regulation of equity release and home reversion plans to protect consumers and make the market work better. No decisions have yet been taken and consequently no resources allocated for taking the advice of Counsel or engaging parliamentary draftsmen. I will make an announcement in due course.

Equity Release Products

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government is taking to educate the population in the use of equity release products.

Ruth Kelly: Consumer education in relation to financial services is a matter for the Financial Services Authority.

Equity Release Products

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government is taking to enable providers of equity release products adequately to hedge their exposures.

Ruth Kelly: Those firms that are authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will be regulated prudentially, that is as to their solvency and risk management. Within FSA rules, the financial management of equity release providers is a matter for the managers of such firms.

Euro

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which Government officials are responsible for liaisons with officials from the Isle of Man in respect of the euro;
	(2)  when the most recent discussion between Government officials and representatives of Guernsey was in respect of the euro;
	(3)  whether the issue of the euro has been discussed during recent meetings between Government officials and representatives of Jersey.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 11 February 2002, columns 10405W.

External Consultants

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to his Department was of the use of external consultants in 2002.

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much (a) his Department and (b) each agency and non-departmental public body spent on external consultancy in each year from 199596 to 200203 (planned); and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The costs to HM Treasury for external consultants were as follows:
	
		
			 Year 000 
		
		
			 199596(57) 1,900 
			 199697 1,032 
			 199798 1,160 
			 199899 1,789 
			 19992000 1,489 
			 200001 1,667 
			 200102 1,160 
			 200203(58) 1,972 
		
	
	(57) These figures include expenditure incurred on professional fees in connection with the privatisation programme.
	(58) To date.
	The current year's figure includes an exceptional number of projects related to cyclical investment in Treasury's IT system. For example we have upgraded our financial accounting and the Economic Forecasting Database (304,482). In previous years, spend was dominated by large policy projects, rather than replacing IT systems.

Fiscal Projections

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when key assumptions were used in the fiscal projections of the 2002 pre-Budget report regarding (a) trend GDP growth, (b) equity prices and (c) oil prices last audited by the National Audit Office.

Paul Boateng: Box B1 of the 2002 pre-Budget report (Cm 5664) set out when the key assumptions underlying the fiscal projections were last audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General: the trend GDP growth assumption was last audited at the time of the Budget 2002 (see HC 760, Session 200102); the equity prices assumption was last audited at the time of the 2000 pre-Budget report (see HC 959, Session 19992000); and the oil prices assumption was last audited at the time of the 2002 pre-Budget report (see HC 109, Session 200203).

Inland Revenue

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed by the Inland Revenue.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue employed 71,873 staff at 1 October 2002, equivalent to 66,400 full time units.

Insurance

Clive Efford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 18 March, Official Report, column 6778, on insurance, 
	(1)  how many responses he has had to the consultation on regulating insurance mediation; if he will place copies in the Library; and what representations he has received from travel agents and tour operators;
	(2)  if he will carry out a cost benefit analysis of each of the three options proposed in the consultation on the adoption of the insurance mediation directive.

Ruth Kelly: The Government has received some four hundred responses to the consultation on the adoption of the insurance mediation directive including many from travel agents and operators. A summary of the responses will be placed in the Library when decisions are announced in the second quarter of this year. In accordance with the usual procedure, a regulatory impact assessment will be published at the time the legislation is presented to Parliament.

Iraq

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the effect a conflict in Iraq will have on (a) the UK and (b) the world economy.

Paul Boateng: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Mr. Flight) on 27 March, Official Report, column 340W.

Landfill Tax

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his statement of 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 5WS, on the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, how the Government is ensuring that the transitional funding is applied across the UK on a basis fully compliant with European Union laws, with particular reference to laws governing state aids.

John Healey: The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme transitional arrangements for England allow continued funding, for a one year period, of waste projects that are on-going under the scheme, subject to EU state aid rules. A process has been put in place to make decisions on allocating funding to projects on the basis of the criteria set out in the announcement of 3 February. Spending is subject to state aid rules if the resources not only benefit selected undertakings or sectors, but also have the potential to distort both competition and trade across the EU. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are responsible for ensuring that their spending programmes comply with European Union treaty obligations.

Landfill Tax

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which community projects based in the Buckingham constituency have benefited from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003; and how much funding was granted for each project.

John Healey: Details of projects funded by the scheme are available from the scheme's regulator, ENTRUST whose address is as follows:
	ENTRUST
	Acre House
	2 Town Square
	Sale
	M33 7WZ
	I have asked ENTRUST to write to the hon. Member with a response to his question.

Net Worth

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assumptions were made in forming the expectation of a modest decline in net worth, as set out in paragraph 2.56 of the pre-Budget Report 2002;
	(2)  what cautious assumptions are referred to in paragraph 2.61 of the pre-Budget Report 2002, on which projections of the cyclically-adjusted treaty deficit are based;
	(3)  what the assumptions are on which the projections (a) concerning output and (b) in Table B3 of the pre-Budget Report 2002 are based; and what assumptions were made about (i) the state of the world economy and (ii) oil prices in compiling the data in Table B3;
	(4)  what the assumptions are on which the projections concerning (a) fairness and prudence, (b) long-term sustainability, (c) economic impact, (d) financing and (e) European commitments in Table 2.6 of the pre-Budget Report 2002 are based; and what assumptions were made about (i) the state of the world economy and (ii) oil prices in compiling Table 2.6;
	(5)  what are the cautious assumptions referred to in paragraph 2.62 of the pre-Budget Report 2002, which were used to make public finance projections;
	(6)  what the assumptions are on which the projections of (a) surplus on current budget, (b) net borrowing, (c) cyclically adjusted surplus on current budget, (d) cyclically adjusted public sector net borrowing and (e) net debt in Table 2.3 of the pre-Budget Report 2000 are based; and what assumptions were made about (i) the state of the world economy and (ii) oil prices in compiling Table 2.3;
	(7)  what assumptions were made about (a) the state of the world economy, (b) oil prices and (c) the size of automatic stabilisers in compiling the projections of the changes to the current budget since Budget 2002, as set out in Table 2.4 of the pre-Budget Report 2002;
	(8)  what assumptions were made concerning (a) the state of the world economy, (b) export demand and (c) levels of foreign investment in the UK in the fiscal projections set out in the pre-Budget Report 2002.

Ruth Kelly: A full description of the assumptions on which the fiscal projections contained in the pre-Budget Report 2002 are based is given in paragraph B20, Table B3, and Box B1 of the same report. The key assumptions are audited by the National Audit Office (NAO) under the three year rolling review process to ensure they remain reasonable and cautious. Annex A of the pre-Budget Report 2002 presented a full discussion of economic developments and prospects, including the world economy, trade and the balance of payments, oil prices, and UK output growth.
	Projections for the cyclically adjusted fiscal balances and automatic stabilizers are based on the average impact of changes in the output gap on the public finances over the previous cycles, as set out in 'Fiscal policy: public finances and the cycle', HM Treasury, March 1999. Updated coefficients for estimating cyclically-adjusted fiscal balances taking into account changes in the corporation tax regime were set out in paragraph C14 of Budget 2001.

Pensions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which his Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The only public body which the Treasury sponsors that has a pension scheme is the Bank of England. The Bank has a funded defined benefit scheme providing benefits based on final pensionable pay.
	The actuarial value at the valuation of February 2002, using the projected unit method, gave the Fund's assets as 1,431 million, representing 112 per cent. of the benefits that have accrued to date. There was a surplus of 150 million.

Public Finances

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what (a) anticipated changes in asset prices and (b) other determinants of tax receipts were used in predicting changes in the output gap on the public finances, as referred to in paragraph 2.43 of the pre-Budget Report 2002;
	(2)  what changes in the output gap on the public finances were anticipated in making the estimates of the changes in the size of automatic stabilisers as set out in Table 2.4 of the pre-Budget Report 2002.

Paul Boateng: The relationship between the output gap and of the main components of tax receipts and public expenditure is outlined in 'Fiscal policy: public finances and the cycle', HM Treasury, March 1999, which describes the Government's methodology for producing cyclically adjusted fiscal aggregates. This methodology is based on the historical relationship between the output gap and key fiscal aggregates and therefore reflects the average impact of previous economic cycles on the public finances.
	Its application only requires estimates of the output gap.

Stock Exchange

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the performance of the London stock exchange since January in comparison to other leading stockmarkets.

Ruth Kelly: Performance of UK stock market indices has been comparable with performance of US indices and better than European indices since January 2003. Between 2 January 2003 and 24 March 2003, the FTSE All-Share index declined around 7 per cent., compared with a 5 per cent. decline in the SP 500, a 15 per cent. decline in the French CAC-40 and an 18 per cent. decline in the German DAX. Falls in UK market capitalisation since January have been smaller than in Europe but greater than in the US. Increases in the volume of shares traded on the FTSE All-Share index since January have been greater than US and German volume increases but less than French volume increases.

Tax Credits

Bill Tynan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Hamilton South he estimates will benefit from the working families tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: The numbers of recipients of Working Families' Tax Credit and Disabled Person's Tax Credit in each local authority and in each constituency are shown in Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical Analyses, copies of which are in the Library and on the Inland Revenue web site, www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk, under Facts and Figures.

Travel Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of travel by train by staff in his Department in 2002.

Ruth Kelly: Information is not held in the form requested.

Unpaid Tax

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total amount of unpaid tax, broken down by major category, in (a) the East Riding of Yorkshire and (b) the Yorkshire and the Humber region in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue does not hold information about unpaid tax on a local or regional basis. I gave the national figures in answer to a Question from the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 4 March 2003, Official Report, column 921W.

Voluntary Sector

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future delivery of public services by the voluntary sector.

Paul Boateng: As outlined in the cross cutting review of the role of the voluntary and community sector in service delivery (available on the Treasury website), we believe that voluntary and community organisations have a crucial role to play in the reform of public services and reinvigoration of civic life. They add value to service delivery in a way that complements, but does not substitute the responsibilities of government. The Government are committed to creating a framework in which the sector can continue to flourish, be strong and independent.

Withholding Taxes

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the UK Government's policy is on EU policy towards withholding taxes; and which EU countries are introducing a withholding tax on savings income;
	(2)  which (a) EU countries and (b) offshore investment centres under the British Crown are introducing exchange of information concerning investment income.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Government supports exchange of information as the best means of combating cross-border tax evasion on savings income.
	At ECOFIN on 21 January 2003, the EU reaffirmed its ultimate objective of exchange of information, on as wide a basis as possible, in respect of savings income. Political agreement was reached that all 15 member states would move to a system of automatic exchange of information, with a transitional period for Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. During this transitional period, it was agreed that these three member states would operate a withholding tax, rising to 35 per cent., on non-resident savings income.
	EU member states assessed on 21 January that sufficient reassurances had been received that all the UK territories listed in the ECOFIN conclusions of 20 June 2000 at Santa Maria da Feira will implement the same measures as EU member states.
	Under the OECD's initiative on harmful tax competition, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos Islands have all made commitments to exchange of information on request in respect of direct tax matters.

World Economy

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the change in the level of global economic uncertainty since November 2002.

Ruth Kelly: Updated forecasts for UK and G7 GDP will be presented alongside the Budget statement on 9 April 2003.

World Trade

Howard Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what research was carried out to conclude in the pre-Budget report, Cm 5664, that world trade growth will increase by 5.25 per cent. in 2003 and by 8.75 per cent. in 2004.

Ruth Kelly: In the pre-Budget report the Government published forecasts of G7 GDP growth, world trade in goods and services and UK export market growth. Updated forecasts, based on all the latest available data, will be published alongside the Budget on 9 April.

LORD CHANCELLOR

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Howard Stoate: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures she is taking to ensure that magistrates receive an appropriate (a) level of training and (b) guidance as to how to handle anti-social behaviour order applications, with particular reference to the standard of proof required.

Yvette Cooper: The training of magistrates is the responsibility of Magistrates' Courts' Committees (MCCs). The Judicial Studies Board (JSB) advises my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Chancellor on the policy for, and content of, training for lay magistrates; and on the efficiency and effectiveness with which MCCs deliver such training.
	JSB training materials for lay magistrates on anti-social behaviour orders were revised in November 2002 as a result of the legislative changes introduced by the Police Reform Act 2002. These materials were issued to all MCCs and made available on the JSB web site. The training materials contain case studies that offer those using them an opportunity to explore the legal and practical issues arising in dealing with anti-social behaviour order applications including the standard of proof to be applied.

Departmental Catering Services

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the cost was of (a) the in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by the Department in 2002.

Rosie Winterton: Catering services to meet my Department's requirements are provided through contractual arrangements with specialist suppliers. The term in-house canteen is taken to mean facilities provided primarily for use by my Department's staff.
	My Department operates one staff canteen in its London headquarters where there is a concentration of staff. The facility is also used by visitors to the building.
	Income from sales is used to offset the cost to the Department. However, there is a need for a subsidy, the cost of which was 82,124 in 2002.
	My Department also provides catering services for jurors and other members of the public attending court buildings. These facilities are provided at 63 courts in England and Wales. In order to provide a service which supports effectively the business of the courts and maintains the segregation and security of the various parties, especially jurors, a subsidy is required. In 2002 the subsidy amounted to 1,237,456.

Departmental Creche Facilities

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what creche facilities are provided by the Lord Chancellor's Department; and at what cost.

Rosie Winterton: My Department has 45 bought-in nursery places, and during the past year, provided 78 holiday playscheme places. These cost approximately 103,000 during the past year: 94,000 on subsidised nursery places (at a cost of 2,350 per child per annum); and 9,000 on subsidised playscheme places during school holidays (at a cost of 115 per place).
	We are currently conducting a review to establish whether other forms of childcare such as vouchers and after-school care could supplement existing provision. Departmental childcare subsidies were reduced to 25 per cent. of the cost in order to assist a greater number of employees with a more flexible childcare package.
	The development of a Playscheme Pack1 to support regional holiday playscheme initiatives is already underway.
	My Department has participated actively in an inter-departmental Working Party in collaboration with the Daycare Trust to develop a new childcare strategy for Civil Service employees. We are contributing to the development of a toolkit to assist Departments in making a business case for the provision of childcare and the establishment of a central database of information about setting up childcare initiatives.

Departmental Events

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by her Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Invoices

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the occasions on which her departmental agencies and non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days, or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 200102.

Rosie Winterton: No central record is kept of late payment of individual invoices. However, overall, during the financial year 200102, my Department, (excluding the Legal Services Commission (LSC)) paid 94.4 per cent. of valid invoices received within 30 days. The breakdown is as follows. LCD96.2 per cent.
	Court Service95 per cent.
	Northern Ireland Court Service91.03 per cent.
	HM Land Registry99.1 per cent.
	Pubic Guardianship Office100 per cent.
	Public Record Office99.1 per cent.
	CAFCASS88 per cent.
	Payment performance in respect of commercial invoices by the LSC is not recorded separately by them from other kinds of payment and is therefore not available without disproportionate cost.

Pensions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which the Lord Chancellor's Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: My Department is responsible for two unfunded public sector pension schemes: for Law Commissioners; and for Immigration, and Immigration Appeal, Adjudicators. The last actuarial valuation for both was in March 2002. The schemes' liabilities at that time were 2,769,000 for the Law Commissioners' scheme; and 1,163,000 for the Immigration, and Immigration Appeal, Adjudicators' scheme. As unfunded schemes, they do not have any assets and do not show deficits.

Youth Courts

David Davis: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many youth court cases in the East Riding of Yorkshire have had to be abandoned because the (a) accused and (b) witnesses failed to attend in each year since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: This information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data on the reasons why trials fail to proceed has been collected from all Magistrates' Courts Committee (MCC) areas since 1 April 2002. In the Humberside MCC area, (which includes the East Riding of Yorkshire) 1 April and 31 December 2002, 2,043 trials were recorded. None were recorded as discontinued, but 170 had to be adjourned due to the absence of the defendant. Forty three were discontinued by the prosecution due to the absence, or withdrawal, of witnesses. A further 206 were adjourned because of the absence of prosecution witnesses. These figures include adult and youth cases and they cannot be apportioned between the two categories, without incurring disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Accreditation Awareness

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether community safety accreditation schemes, established under sections 40 and 43 of the Police Reform Act 2002, will be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Bob Ainsworth: The Police Reform Act 2002 allows each Chief Officer of Police to set up a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme in his or her force area in order to enhance community safety. It is open to individual Chief Officers to use any appropriate outside organisation to evaluate such a scheme.

Accreditation Awareness

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support his Department has given the Accreditation Awareness Campaign run by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.

Bob Ainsworth: In October 2000, my right hon. Friend, then Minister of State at the Home Office (Mr. Charles Clarke), issued a statement of support for the campaign and expressed his desire to raise awareness of the value of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).
	Since then UKAS has, with the Association of Chief Police Officers, undertaken work on certification of security alarm installations and accreditation of the Forensic Science Service, Secured by Design, breathalysers and DMA profiling.

Anti-war Demonstrations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to return truants taking part in anti-war demonstrations to school; and what the cost has been of such action.

Bob Ainsworth: It is the responsibility of schools and Local Education Authorities to consider how best to prevent or deal with unauthorised absences that occur for any reason. While the police do have a power to return pupils who are truanting to school, this is exercisable only as part of a truancy sweep initiated by the Local Education Authority under section 16 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The police do not have a general power to return truants to school. Local Education Authorities and police forces are however working together to deter school children from participating in anti-war protests during school time.
	The department also provides holiday playscheme places during the 13 weeks of school holidays each year. The playschemes are run at various locations for children age between 4 and 12 years.
	Provision of childcare is one of a number of policies the Home Office has in place to help staff balance their work and home life. By supporting access to childcare the Department benefits from increased recruitment and retention of staff, a more diverse workforce and makes a positive contribution to the National Childcare Strategy. Comprehensive Information about childcare provision and the flexible working policies that can help staff to better manage their childcare arrangements are available on the Home Office Intranet.
	The department is considering the recent Cabinet Office review of childcare across the Civil Service to see how the recommendations of the review can be implemented to enhance the support currently provided for staff who are parents.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been made in the Greater London area during the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: From 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2002 (latest available) the number of ASBOs, notified to the Home Office, as being issued within the Greater London Magistrates' Courts Association (GLMCA) area is six.
	We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under reported in returns made by magistrates' courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.

Asylum Seekers

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 18 March, Official Report, column 697W, if he will publish the strict specification laid down by the National Asylum Advisory Service for accommodation for asylum seekers in cluster areas.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 28 March 2003
	I have placed a copy of the relevant schedule to the model contract in the Library.

Asylum Seekers

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 18 March, Official Report, column 697W, if he will publish the defined areas identified as suitable for the provision of accommodation of asylum seekers in cluster areas.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 28 March 2003
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		Cluster areas shown by region
		
			 Region Cluster Region Cluster 
		
		
			 East of England Ipswich   
			  Norwich   
			  Cambridge Scotland Edinburgh 
			  Great Yarmouth  Glasgow 
			  Peterborough South West Bristol 
			 East Midlands Leicester  Gloucester 
			  Nottingham  Swindon 
			  Lincoln  Taunton and Bridgewater 
			  Derby  Exeter 
			 South Central and East Brighton and Hove  South Gloucestershire 
			  Hastings and St. Leonards  Torbay 
			  Southampton  Plymouth 
			  Portsmouth  North Somerset 
			 North East Newcastle  Bath 
			  Middlesborough Wales Cardiff 
			  Sunderland  Newport 
			  North Tyneside  Swansea 
			  Gateshead  Wrexham 
			  South Tyneside  Bridgend and Portcawl 
			  Redcar and Cleveland West Midlands Birmingham 
			  Hartlepool  Coventry 
			  Darlington  Wolverhampton 
			  Stockton on Tees  Dudley 
			  Manchester (Gtr Man)  Sandwell 
			  Bolton (Gtr Man)  Solihull 
			  Bury (Gtr Man)  Walsall 
			  Oldham (Gtr Man)  Stoke on Trent 
			  Rochdale (Gtr Man) Yorkshire and Humberside Sheffield 
			  Salford (Gtr Man)  Bradford and Keighley 
			  Stockport (Gtr Man)  Leeds 
			  Thameside (Gtr Man)  Rotherham 
			  Trafford (Gtr Man)  Wakefield 
			  Wigan (Gtr Man)  Hull 
			  Burnley  Kirklees 
			  Blackburn  Doncaster 
			  Liverpool  Halifax 
			  Nelson  Barnsley 
			Grimsby 
		
	
	Northern Ireland is not a cluster area but asylum seekers making their application there can, if they request it, be provided with accommodation there.

Cannabis

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to legalise the use of cannabis for pain relief in disease.

Bob Ainsworth: We will seek Parliament's agreement to amend the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to permit the manufacture and use of a specified cannabis-based medicine under prescription, if the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), an agency of the Department of Health, grants marketing approval later this year to the medical preparation of cannabis developed and extensively tested by GW Pharmaceuticals. The MCA's evaluation of safety, quality and effectiveness of the preparation is one which all prospective new medicines have to go through and is designed to protect public health.
	Such legislative change would not legalise the use of cannabis as such for therapeutic purposes.
	The scheduling of prescribed cannabis-based medicine under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 will shortly be considered by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which will make recommendations.

Cannabis

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is intended that possession of prescribed cannabis medicines will be an offence contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Acts.

Bob Ainsworth: We will seek Parliament's agreement to amend the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to permit the manufacture and use of a specified cannabis-based medicine under prescription, if the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), an agency of the Department of Health, grants marketing approval later this year to the medical preparation of cannabis developed and extensively tested by GW Pharmaceuticals. The MCA's evaluation of safety, quality and effectiveness of the preparation is one which all prospective new medicines have to go through and is designed to protect public health.

Chief Constable (Leicestershire)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to meet the Chief Constable of Leicestershire.

Bob Ainsworth: I will be meeting the Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary at regular intervals in his capacity as the Association of Chief Police Officer's (ACPO) Representative on the Lawrence Steering Group. The next meetings are scheduled for Wednesday 21 May, Tuesday 9 September and Tuesday 25 November.

Civil Service Travel

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grades in the Civil Service in his Department are allowed to travel by air (a) first class and (b) business class at public expense when on official duties.

Hilary Benn: The Home Office is committed to ensuring that staff use the most efficient and economical means of travel which meets the operational need.
	Entitlement to first and business class air travel in the Home Office is determined by the airlines' fare structure for the flight, the grade of the member of staff travelling and the duration of the flight. Entitlements are summarised as follows.
	
		
			   (Senior Executive Officer) (or equivalent) and above Other Grades 
			 Structure Up to 2.5 hours Over 2.5 hours Up to 2.5 hours Over 2.5 hours 
		
		
			 First/Economy Economy First Economy Economy 
			 Business/tourist (or equivalent) Business Business Tourist Business 
			 First/Business/Tourist (or equivalent) Business (Grades 1 and 1A may travel first class) Business Tourist Business 
		
	
	Travel in higher classes than those set out in the table may be allowed in the following circumstances: (a) for journeys of up to 2.5 hours flying time outside the UK, but within Europe, if it is necessary to cover the outward and return flights within one calendar day; (b) the next higher class (business or first as appropriate) may be allowed where strict application of the rules might not be cost effective (perhaps because of restrictions on Tourist bookings), or when a journey of four hours or more necessarily has to be made overnight; (c) where there is a choice on particular routes, preference should be given to flights with a Business option when members of the Senior Civil Service are travelling, since this will normally be more economical; (d) where members of the Senior Civil Service travel on flights of more than four hours duration and no business tier is available; (e) when a member of staff necessarily travels in company with another entitled to a higher class of travel in order to discuss or deal with official business; (f) when a member of staff necessarily travels for official reasons in company with a person who is not a United Kingdom Civil Servant, who is travelling in a higher class.

Crime (Humberside)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (a) what the detection rate for burglaries was in homes and (b) how many burglaries per 1,000 households there have been in the Humberside Police Authority area in each year since 1997; and what the detection rate for burglaries in homes was.

Bob Ainsworth: Details of numbers of domestic burglaries per 1,000 households are not available, but rates of all burglaries per 100,000 population are provided instead.
	
		Humberside
		
			 Year Percentage of burglaries in a dwelling detected Number of all burglaries per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 1997 12 4,079 
			 199899(59) 12 3,862 
			 19992000(60) 10 3,650 
			 200001 11 2,987 
			 200002 10 3,006 
		
	
	(59) Years ending March from 1998/99.
	(60) Change in counting rules for detections on 1.4.99.

Crime (Humberside)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on crime trends within the Humberside Police Authority area.

Bob Ainsworth: The most recently published recorded crime figures show that in the 12 months to March 2002, overall crime levels in the Humberside Police Authority area rose by 6.5 per cent. However, taking into account the counting rule changes for recorded crime on 1 April 1998, overall recorded crime in the area in 2001/02 was 13.3 per cent. lower than in 1997/98.
	The Government is also supporting a number of initiatives specifically aimed at reducing crime in Humberside. Under the safer communities initiative and communities against drugs, the four crime and disorder reduction partnerships of the Humberside Police Authority area have been allocated 343,511 and 897,900 respectively for 2002/2003. This is being used for a number of initiatives such as CCTV schemes, projects which target public disorder, drug and drink related crime and targeted policing.
	There are also now record police numbers in Humberside. There were 2,114 police officers in Humberside in September 2002 (the most recent figures available)an increase of 123 more police officers compared with September 2001.

Departmental Creche Facilities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what crche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost.

Beverley Hughes: The Department currently provides 180 nursery places for children under the age of five years. These places are available to Home Office staff (including the agencies) at a variety of locations. These arrangements involve a subsidy of up to 50 per cent. of the contractual running costs depending on local circumstances. The cost to the Department for providing these facilities is approximately 369,000 per year, depending on take up of the places available.
	In addition to these facilities the United Kingdom Passport Service, the Forensic Science Service and the Police Information Technology Organisation run child care voucher and allowance schemes, which provide staff with the opportunity to receive a contribution towards professional child care fees.

Departmental Events

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost.

Hilary Benn: Information is not held centrally on sponsored events run on behalf of the Department on non-departmental premises.
	A breakdown of expenditure on this basic could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Domestic Violence

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to seek new powers to combat domestic violence to bring more offenders to justice; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: A consultation paper, setting out proposals to prevent domestic violence, deal with perpetrators and provide increased support to victims, will be published this year. The paper will build on the initial consultation on domestic violence in the Justice for All White Paper published last year. It will aim to generate a comprehensive response from the public, voluntary sector and others, to ensure the widest possible agreement on what needs to be done to prevent and deal with domestic violence.

Domestic Violence

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the need for funding to combat domestic violence against women in Surrey.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 21 March 2003
	The Government are committed to tackling domestic violence in all parts of the country. It is a serious and abhorrent crime that accounts for one quarter of all violent crime and claims the lives of two women a week. The Government will do everything they can to tackle it and ensure that victims receive support and protection.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has announced that 14 million will be made available over the next three years to support work to develop mainstream responses to domestic violence. We will also be providing funding for a new post at the Local Government Authority (LGA) to support this work. We have also announced a consultation paper setting out proposals to prevent domestic violence, which will be published this year. This consultation will build on the initial consultation on domestic violence in the White Paper, 'Justice for All', and the on-going work of the inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence, which is focusing on five priority areas for action. These are:
	Increasing safe accommodation choices for women and children;
	Developing early and effective health care interventions;
	Improving the interface between the criminal and civil law;
	Ensuring a consistent and appropriate response from the police and Crown Prosecution Service; and
	Promoting Education and Awareness Raising.
	Tackling the problem means more than just providing initial support for victims. We want to ensure that offenders are prosecuted, help the police to prevent repeat victimisation, and protect the lives of the vulnerable.

Domestic Violence

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sources of Government funding are available for councils to combat domestic violence who do not receive money under the Violence Against Women initiative.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 21 March 2003
	Government funding may be available from a variety of sources, and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has recently announced that 14 million will be made available over the next three years to support local partnerships in developing mainstream responses to domestic violence. He also announced that the Home Office will be funding a post at the Local Government Authority (LGA) to support this work.
	In addition, for example, the Children's Fund allocates money to local partnerships which commission services which have been agreed as a local priority, and which will include support for children who are living with domestic violence. During last summer there were 158 services funded by the Children Fund that explicitly targeted children suffering from domestic violence. To provide safe accommodation for those suffering domestic violence the Homelessness Directorate has announced a 7 million capital investment programme through the Housing Corporation to extend the national network of women's refuges in England. The Directorate is planning to invest similar amounts over the course of the following two years, bringing the total amount to 21 million over three years. Initial allocations for Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are being agreed with the Housing Corporation for 200304 and it is hoped that further schemes, drawn up by RSLs in collaboration with local authorities, will be supported in the following two years.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has offered every local housing authority in England an allocation to assist them in the implementation of the Priority Need for Accommodation (England) Order 2002 and they could, if they wish, utilise this money to support domestic violence projects.
	Supporting people, which comes into effect from 1 April 2003, will provide 1.4 billion funding in its first year for local authorities to provide housing-related support. One of the key principles of Supporting People is that support should be offered regardless of the type of accommodation in which people live. So for people experiencing domestic violence, Supporting People may be used for housing-related support whether this is offered within a refuge, in temporary accommodation or in the home.

Domestic Violence (North Yorkshire)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government is taking to tackle domestic violence in north Yorkshire.

Bob Ainsworth: The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence in all parts of the country. It is a serious and abhorrent crime that accounts for one quarter of all violent crime and claims the lives of two women a week. The Government will do everything it can to tackle it and ensure that victims receive support and protection.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has announced that 14 million will be made available over the next three years to support work to develop mainstream responses to domestic violence. We will also be providing funding for a new post at the Local government Authority (LGA) to support this work. We have also announced a consultation paper setting out proposals to prevent domestic violence, which will be published this year. This consultation will build on the initial consultation on domestic violence in the white paper, Justice for All, and the ongoing work of the inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence, which is focussing on five priority areas for action. These are:
	Increasing safe accommodation choices for women and children;
	Developing early and effective healthcare interventions;
	Improving the interface between the criminal and civil law;
	Ensuring a consistent and appropriate response from the police and Crown Prosecution Service; and Promoting Education and Awareness Raising.
	Tackling the problem means more than just providing initial support for victims. We want to ensure that offenders are prosecuted, help the police to prevent repeat victimisation, and protect the lives of the vulnerable.

Firearms

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to limit the number of shotguns owned by a person under a single licence.

Bob Ainsworth: We have no plans at present to introduce a limit. There is a requirement under current legislation to notify transactions thereby ensuring that the police are kept informed of the acquisition of any shotguns after a certificate has been granted.

Firearms

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to relax the existing controls on the ownership of handguns for sporting purposes.

Bob Ainsworth: None.

Gurkhas

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take into account the 15 years service in this country of Gurkha soldiers when assessing applications from such soldiers for the right to settle in the UK.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 28 March 2003
	As part of Her Majesty's forces, Gurkhas are exempt from immigration control while serving in the UK, and therefore, the 1971 Immigration Act does not apply to them. Accordingly, no leave can be conferred on a Gurkha soldier during their service here. The question of conferring indefinite leave to remain upon termination of service does not arise, as Gurkhas are discharged in Nepal in accordance with their terms and conditions of service.

Heroin

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure the security of supplies of heroin in pharmacies which may be required to prescribe it.

Bob Ainsworth: Diamorphine (heroin) is already one of those controlled drugs to which the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 apply. Pharmacies are covered by these Regulations, which oblige them to hold controlled drugs in such a way as to prevent any unauthorised access.
	These Regulations require that pharmacies keep controlled drugs in a locked safe, cabinet or room, as specified in the Regulations, or alternatively, in premises certified by the local chief officer of police as providing an adequate degree of security.

Mr. Henry Olonga

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an immediate offer of political asylum to Mr. Henry Olonga.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 28 March 2003
	The duty of confidentiality does not allow me to disclose in a written answer whether an individual has applied for asylum, nor the actual or likely outcome of any claim. This is provided for in the Code of Practice on Access to government Information Part 2 (Sub Section 12).

Police (Retirement Procedures)

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will undertake a survey of the operation by police forces of the Home Office's non-negotiable processes of applications by officers seeking retirement on the grounds of ill-health retirement; whether he will amend the process to enable a speedier conclusion; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: Police officers are a valuable resource and one of our priorities is to ensure that their skills and expertise are retained by forces as long as practicable. Under the Police Pensions Regulations it is the responsibility of the police authority for the force concerned to decide whether to retire or retain an officer who has been assessed as permanently disabled by their selected medical practitioner. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary reviewed the management of ill-health retirement of police officers in their thematic inspection report of 1997, 'Lost Time'.
	As part of the police reform process the Police Negotiating Board agreed in May 2002 ways to deliver a fair and more consistent approach towards early retirement due to ill health. Following the May Agreement the Police Negotiating Board agreed on 30 January changes to the Police Pensions Regulations to help support good practice, and joint guidance on the procedures for considering ill-health retirement. The new regulations come into force on 1 April and the joint guidance should be applied from 1 July. Under the guidance each case should be handled as expeditiously as possible consistent with a properly informed decision as to retirement or retention, with cases involving imminent death or severe disablement being given expedited treatment.

Police Numbers

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of police officers in (a) each police force in England and Wales and (b) in total on 31 March in each year since 1992.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 25 March 2003
	The information requested is set out in the table.
	
		Police strength in England and Walestotal police strength for ordinary duty
		
			  March 
			 Police force 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Avon and Somerset 3,081 3,068 3,033 3,000 2,981 2,989 
			 Bedfordshire 1,093 1,188 1,151 1,126 1,128 1,094 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,250 1,265 1,263 1,261 1,238 1,302 
			 Cheshire 1,874 1,908 1,902 1,932 1,998 2,046 
			 Cleveland 1,477 1,478 1,429 1,438 1,420 1,459 
			 Cumbria 1,179 1,196 1,174 1,167 1,115 1,144 
			 Derbyshire 1,706 1,830 1,820 1,797 1,763 1,791 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,898 2,910 2,914 2,877 2,899 2,865 
			 Dorset 1,289 1,302 1,297 1,288 1,263 1,284 
			 Durham 1,389 1,381 1,383 1,353 1,401 1,461 
			 Essex 2,898 2,936 2,937 2,921 2,884 2,961 
			 Gloucestershire 1,174 1,149 1,159 1,163 1,133 1,133 
			 Greater Manchester 7,061 7,060 6,967 7,037 6,938 6,922 
			 Hampshire 3,211 34275 3,270 3,256 3,347 3,452 
			 Hertfordshire 1,695 1,700 1,682 1,703 1,712 1,759 
			 Humberside 2,026 2,032 2,039 2,029 2,041 2,045 
			 Kent 3,074 3,146 3,145 3,117 3,120 3,260 
			 Lancashire 3,198 3,207 3,170 3,212 3,171 3,247 
			 Leicestershire 1,845 1,805 1,825 1,839 1,908 1,949 
			 Lincolnshire 1,196 1,200 1,205 1,199 1,145 1,196 
			 London, City of 808 825 893 885 869 859 
			 Merseyside 4,621 4,669 4,693 4,659 4,411 4,230 
			 Metropolitan 28,154 27,867 27,699 27,480 27,343 26,677 
			 Norfolk 1,414 1,440 1,447 1,395 1,401 1,432 
			 Northamptonshire 1,158 1,199 1,170 1,156 1,153 1,177 
			 Northumbria 3,464 3,563 3,598 3,606 3,668 3,677 
			 North Yorkshire 1,398 1,393 1,318 1,300 1,324 1,338 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,331 2,327 2,328 2,319 2,318 2,323 
			 South Yorkshire 3,008 3,032 3,023 3,040 3,073 3,159 
			 Staffordshire 2,176 2,179 2,208 2,231 2,209 2,211 
			 Suffolk 1,218 1,241 1,208 1,191 1,138 1,180 
			 Surrey 1,706 1,693 1,669 1,676 1,644 1,620 
			 Sussex 2,984 3,008 3,009 2,931 3,074 3,085 
			 Thames Valley 3,772 3,840 3,908 3,854 3,674 3,695 
			 Warwickshire 990 1,020 1,046 1,013 979 926 
			 West Mercia 2,034 2,054 2,059 2,046 2,017 2,040 
			 West Midlands 6,941 6,953 7,014 7,019 7,145 7,113 
			 West Yorkshire 5,087 5,037 5,046 5,050 5,142 5,209 
			 Wiltshire 1,221 1,265 1,264 1,261 1,218 1,154 
			 Dyfed Powys 947 967 965 976 991 1,005 
			 Gwent 1,009 1,004 993 997 1,044 1,243 
			 North Wales 1,347 1,360 1,352 1,366 1,378 1,369 
			 South Wales 3,168 3,176 3,131 3,014 3,027 2,976 
			 Total 43 forces 125,570 126,128 125,806 125,180 124,844 125,051 
			 Total England and Wales 127,627 128,290 127,807 127,222 126,901 127,158 
		
	
	
		
			March September 
			 Police force 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 2,976 2,999 2,934 2,960 3,096 3,119 
			 Bedfordshire 1,079 1,041 1,028 1,036 1,069 1,086 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,291 1,274 1,237 1,296 1,362 1,398 
			 Cheshire 2,042 2,071 2,011 2,002 2,059 2,075 
			 Cleveland 1,483 1,416 1,404 1,407 1,461 1,488 
			 Cumbria 1,164 1,126 1,084 1,048 1,100 1,112 
			 Derbyshire 1,772 1,759 1,777 1,823 1,848 1,970 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,962 2,887 2,841 2,934 3,053 3,145 
			 Dorset 1,310 1,279 1,306 1,354 1,381 1,402 
			 Durham 1,515 1,568 1,558 1,595 1,614 1,655 
			 Essex 2,928 2,891 2,806 2,887 2,946 2,988 
			 Gloucestershire 1,104 1,104 1,114 1,173 1,183 1,171 
			 Greater Manchester 6,949 6,810 6,795 6,909 7,217 7,352 
			 Hampshire 3,490 3,473 3,419 3,435 3,480 3,592 
			 Hertfordshire 1,740 1,724 1,767 1,922 1,825 1,902 
			 Humberside 2,021 1,974 1,932 1,917 2,058 2,114 
			 Kent 3,251 3,201 3,204 3,319 3,355 3,434 
			 Lancashire 3,257 3,245 3,179 3,255 3,304 3,378 
			 Leicestershire 1,983 1,993 1,993 2,033 2,100 2,086 
			 Lincolnshire 1,191 1,140 1,115 1,202 1,198 1,214 
			 London, City of 825 778 732 703 764 777 
			 Merseyside 4,216 4,211 4,085 4,081 4,125 4,118 
			 Metropolitan 26,094 26,073 25,485 24,878 26,223 26,868 
			 Norfolk 1,430 1,381 1,381 1,420 1,468 1,481 
			 Northamptonshire 1,169 1,137 1,117 1,157 1,214 1,202 
			 Northumbria 3,769 3,840 3,788 3,857 3,929 4,006 
			 North Yorkshire 1,367 1,337 1,283 1,305 1,417 1,404 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,323 2,225 2,204 2,212 2,330 2,397 
			 South Yorkshire 3,182 3,168 3,163 3,197 3,199 3,217 
			 Staffordshire 2,292 2,238 2,170 2,129 2,133 2,169 
			 Suffolk 1,186 1,190 1,145 1,133 1,203 1,228 
			 Surrey 1,608 1,662 1,785 2,066 1,992 1,986 
			 Sussex 2,996 2,847 2,822 2,855 2,893 2,933 
			 Thames Valley 3,776 3,748 3,740 3,703 3,762 3,830 
			 Warwickshire 924 908 900 926 969 1,007 
			 West Mercia 2,010 2,025 1,887 1,951 2,018 2,048 
			 West Midlands 7,156 7,321 7,194 7,423 7,618 7,855 
			 West Yorkshire 5,155 4,982 4,822 4,815 4,889 4,999 
			 Wiltshire 1,156 1,151 1,118 1,120 1,157 1,167 
			 Dyfed Powys 1,002 1,026 1,040 1,055 1,132 1,144 
			 Gwent 1,233 1,247 1,264 1,274 1,333 1,327 
			 North Wales 1,396 1,391 1,403 1,444 1,506 1,496 
			 South Wales 2,986 2,981 2,926 3,100 3,222 3,153 
			 Total 43 forces 124,756 123,841 121,956 123,313 127,267 129,494 
			 Total England and Wales 126,814 126,096 124,170 126,682 129,603 131,548 
		
	
	Note:
	Total for England and Wales includes secondments to NCS, NCIS and central services.

Police Numbers

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research his Department has undertaken on the proportion of police resources deployed for frontline use compared to other countries; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office Public Service Agreement 2 involves assessing the proportion of time spent on front line duties by forces in England and Wales.
	Work to agree a definition of duties and their measurement is being undertaken. International comparisons are not currently available.

Police Vehicle Accidents

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) killed and (b) injured by police vehicles in the Greater London area in each of the last three years.

Bob Ainsworth: Available information is given in the table. Figures for deaths and injuries refer to police forces not geographical areas and are available only for collisions where the police vehicle was providing an immediate response to an emergency call or in pursuit of another vehicle.
	
		
			  19992000 200001 200102 
		
		
			 Metropolitan Police
			 Numbers of fatalities 1 6 2 
			 Numbers of serious injuries 39 40 51 
			 Numbers of slight injuries 465 628 607 
			 City of London Police
			 Numbers of fatalities 0 0 0 
			 Numbers of serious injuries 0 0 1 
			 Numbers of slight injuries 0 2 6 
			 Total
			 Numbers of fatalities 1 6 2 
			 Numbers of serious injuries 39 40 52 
			 Numbers of slight injuries 465 630 613

Recorded Crime (Kent)

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded crime rate in Kent was in each year since 1997, broken down by major category of crime.

Bob Ainsworth: The requested information is in the table.
	There was a change in counting rules for recorded crime in 1 April 1998, which would have the tendency to increase the number of crimes counted. Crime rates before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
	The Kent County Constabulary adopted the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard on 1 April 2000, in advance of its national implementation on 1 April 2002. This may have inflated its recorded crime figures, and so crime rates before and after this date may not be directly comparable.
	
		Number of offences recorded by Kent police per 100,000 population
		
			  1997(61) 199899(62) 19992000 200001 200102 
		
		
			 Violence against the person 478 792 825 827 769 
			 Sexual offences 49 59 55 61 63 
			 Robbery 46 45 53 63 63 
			 Total violent crime 573 897 933 951 895 
			 Burglary 1,653 1,467 1,253 1,209 1,093 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 3,827 3,660 3,323 3,367 3,067 
			 Fraud and forgery 188 363 469 502 371 
			 Criminal damage 1,544 1,472 1,575 1,761 1,796 
			 Drug offences(63)  248 231 185 191 
			 Other offences 110 152 149 114 106 
		
	
	(61) Recorded on a calendar year basis up to 1997, and years ending March thereafter.
	(62) The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised counting rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998.
	(63) Prior to 199899, the only drug-related offence recorded was Trafficking in controlled drugs. This was recorded within the Other offences offence group.

Street Crime

Clive Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department intends to evaluate the Street Crime Initiative in the relevant police force areas; and if he will publish the evaluation.

Bob Ainsworth: The Street Crime Initiative is ongoing and as part of its day to day management there is regular identification and exchange of good practice across the various agencies involved. At local level a number of specific evaluations of projects or initiatives have been commissioned. These are a matter for the local partners.
	In addition, various strands of activity contributing to reducing street crime are being examined by a number of independent inspectorates, including Her Majesty's Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons, and Probation, and the Social Services, Crown Prosecution Service, and Magistrates Courts' Inspectorates. Findings are expected to be made available in the summer.

Street Crime

Clive Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is evidence to show that the street crime initiative has displaced such crimes into areas not subject to the initiative.

Bob Ainsworth: It is not currently possible to make an assessment of displacement effects from areas subject to the Street Crime Initiative to areas that are not part of the initiative. It should not be assumed that decreases in crime in a particular force area are at the cost of increases elsewhere.
	Criminal statistics are published on a quarterly and annual basis. The latest figures for England and Wales show that robbery fell by 10 per cent. in July to September 2002 compared to the year before.

Terrorism

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of public and government buildings to attack from a helicopter; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: All flights over central London take place within controlled airspace and require clearance from air traffic control. Pilots are required to comply with air traffic control instructions at all times.
	There are a number of designated helicopter routes through the London Control Zone. For example, for safety reasons single-engined helicopters must follow a fixed route, including along the Thames, away from built up areas.
	Restrictions on helicopter movements, and security requirements at airfields, in London and elsewhere, are kept under constant review and can be expected to be varied from time to time.

Terrorism

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women accused of being involved in terrorist activities are being held in prisons in England and Wales; and how many of those being held have appeared before a magistrates court.

Hilary Benn: There are currently 44 male prisoners being held in prisons in England and Wales accused of being involved in terrorist activities. There are no female prisoners currently being held in any prison accused of being involved in terrorist activities. Of these 44, 12 have not appeared before a magistrates court; these 12 prisoners are being held under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department have made of the number of people who opted for payment of benefits and pensions into a (a) bank or building society account and (b) post office card account by 28 February; and how many of those are (i) child benefit, (ii) veterans agency and (iii) pensions claimants.

Malcolm Wicks: As at 28 February 2003 1,218,916 customer invitation letters had been issued. This is made up of 1,086,301 child benefit customers, 107,651 Veterans Agency customers and 24,964 pensions customers.
	From the invitation letters issued, over 447,226 customers have responded to our letters and opted for payment into a bank or building society account: this is made up of 393,847 child benefit, 51,806 Veterans Agency and 1,573 pensions.
	Over 90,711 customers have responded with a request for a post office card account. This is made up of 49,178 child benefit customers, 35,622 Veterans Agency customers and 5,911 pensions customers. As planned we have now started to issue personal invitation documents to customers who have requested a post office card account.

Benefits

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many persons aged 6570 receive disability living allowance or attendance allowance; and of these how many (a) receive a mobility payment and (b) do not do so on account of their having become disabled after the age of 65.

Maria Eagle: The numbers of people aged 6570 receiving (i) disability living allowance, (ii) the mobility component of disability living allowance, and (iii) attendance allowance are shown in the table. Figures for the number of attendance allowance recipients in that age group who might satisfy the entitlement conditions for the disability living allowance mobility component are not available because the walking difficulties of attendance allowance claimants are not assessed.
	
		Numbers of people in Great Britain aged 6570 on 31 August 2002 receiving (i) disability living allowance; (ii) the disability living allowance mobility component; and (iii) attendance allowance
		
			 Benefit Number of recipients aged 6570 
		
		
			 Disability living allowance(64) 340,600 
			 Disability living allowance mobility component(65) 314,100 
			 Attendance allowance(66) 60,000 
		
	
	(64) Disability living allowance is available to people who claim help with their disability related extra costs before age 65. Once in payment, the care component or the mobility component of disability living allowance (or both) can continue to be paid after age 65 for as long as the entitlement conditions are satisfied.
	(65) People receiving a mobility component may also be receiving a care component.
	(66) Attendance allowance is available to people aged 65 and over when they claim help with their disability related extra costs. Attendance allowance does not have a mobility component.
	Note:
	Figures are in thousands rounded to the nearest hundred.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, data taken from 5 per cent. sample at 31 August 2002.

Benefits

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of pensioners eligible for benefits in the East Riding of Yorkshire, broken down by benefit category;
	(2)  how many pensioners receive state benefits in the East Riding of Yorkshire, broken down by benefit category.

Ian McCartney: Estimates of eligibility are available at national level only.
	Information about the number of pensioners receiving state benefits in the East Riding of Yorkshire is in the following table.
	
		Number of recipients by benefit type in the East Riding of Yorkshire local authority area
		
			 Benefit As at: Number of claimants (thousand)  
		
		
			 Minimum Income Guarantee(67) November 2002 10.3 
			 State Pension September 2002 69.0 
			 Disability Living Allowance(68) August 2002 3.8 
			 Attendance Allowance August 2002 7.5 
			 Winter Fuel Payment 200102 72.3 
		
	
	(67) MIG claimants are defined as any live Income Support benefit unit where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and over.
	(68) DLA figure is for claimants over state pension age (age 60+ for women/age 65+ for men).
	Notes:
	1. Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG), State Pension (SP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and Attendance Allowance (AA) are based on a 5 per cent. sample
	therefore subject to sampling variation. Winter Fuel Payment is 100 per cent. data.
	2. Local authorities are allocated using the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	3. Figures are in thousands rounded to the nearest hundred.
	4. Figures are for individual benefits and a person in receipt of more than one benefit will be included in each benefit count. Figures cannot therefore be summed to give a total number of claimants.
	Sources:
	1. Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 2002.
	2. 5 per cent. sample from the Pension Strategy Computer System, September 2002.
	3. IAD Information Centre, data taken from 5 per cent. sample at 31 August 2002.
	4. Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuels Payment 200102 exercise 100 per cent data.
	Information about Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit is only available at Government Office Region level and is in the following table:
	
		Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit case loads for recipients aged 60 and overYorkshire and the HumberMay 2001
		
			  Number 
		
		
			  
			  
			 HB recipients 162,000 
			 CTB recipients 230,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figure is based on a 1 per cent. sample and therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
	3. The figures are rounded to the nearest thousand cases.
	4. Council Tax Benefit data excludes any Second Adult Rebate cases.
	5. Housing Benefit data excludes any Extended Payment cases.
	6. The figures are for benefit units where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over.
	7. There will be an overlap in the figures as a claimant may be in receipt of both Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
	Source:
	Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2001.

Benefit Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department and its agencies have been (a) disciplined, (b) suspended, (c) dismissed, (d) prosecuted and (e) convicted for matters relating to benefit fraud in the current year and each of the previous three years; how much was (i) defrauded and (ii) recovered in each case, broken down by type of benefit; at what level in his Department and its agencies the decision is made on whether (A) to take no action, (B) to take internal disciplinary action or (C) to prosecute; what the policy of his Department and its agencies on the prosecution of staff suspected of benefit fraud is; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Information is not available in the exact form requested. Such information that is available is shown in the tables. The tables show value of fraud, the outcome of investigation activity and the benefit subjected to the fraud. Information on amounts recovered is not routinely captured centrally. It is normal practice to recover wrongly paid sums. This can either be through the courts following prosecution or through departmental action.
	
		Staff Involvement in benefit fraud
		
			 Case number Value of fraud () Outcome(69) Benefit type 
		
		
			 19992000
			 1 210,000 Prosecution resulting in custodial sentence Income support 
			 2 30,000 Prosecution Income support  
			 3 75.80 Officer dismissed Income support  
			 4 1,753.00 Prosecution resulting in probation and community service Income support 
			 5 4,462.97 Information no longer available Income support/jobseekers allowance 
			 6 8,820.77 Prosecution resulting in custodial sentence Jobseekers allowance 
			 7 144.20 Officer resigned Incapacity benefit 
			 8 134.41 Officer resigned Incapacity benefit 
			 9 4,224.28 Officer resigned Incapacity benefit/disability living allowance 
			 10 957.56 Prosecution resulting in fine Family credit 
			 11 17,880.80 Prosecution resulting in 150 hours community service order Family credit 
			 12 1,947.08 Information no longer available Family credit 
			 13 3,690.80 Officer dismissed Invalid care allowance 
			 14 3,255.54 Officer dismissed Housing benefit 
			 15 3,186.00 Officer resigned Housing benefit 
			 Total 290,533.21   
			 
			 200001  
			 1 3,963.00 Disciplinary action not yet completed Income support  
			 2 4,272.33 Officer resigned Income support 
			 3 218.57 No disciplinary action taken Income support 
			 4 887.18 Prosecuted, conditional discharge officer resigned Jobseekers allowance 
			 5 426.14 Formal reprimand for five years Family credit 
			 6 1,807.10 Downgraded, formal reprimand and promotion bar Family credit 
			 7 3,697.06 Information no longer available Housing benefit 
			 8 2,820.18 Prosecuted by Police resulting in community service and order to repay Housing benefit 
			 9 7,631.37 Prosecuted resulting in probation and community service Housing benefit 
			 10 2,140.00 Information no longer available Housing benefit  
			 11 9,535.84 Prosecution resulting in community service and probation Incapacity benefit  
			 Total 37,398.77   
			   
			 200102  
			 1 2,346.00 Written reprimand valid for 5 years Income support  
			 2 2,660.72 Officer dismissed Housing benefit council tax benefit 
			 3 5,000.00 Officer resigned Income support/incapacity benefit  
			 4 2,904.00 Officer resigned Income support 
			 5 3,005.00 Officer dismissed Income support working families tax credit  
			 6 180,000 Prosecution resulting in custodial sentence Incapacity benefit  
			 
			 Total 195,915.72   
			 
			 2002032 
			 1 1,807.00 Formal reprimand, downgraded, promotion ban for 2 years Family credit  
			 2 5,300.00 Officer dismissed Incapacity benefit  
			 Total to date 7,107.00   
		
	
	(69) Following prosecution, disciplinary action is taken and may lead to dismissal.
	(70) There are limited details available for the current financial year, as a number of potential cases of benefit fraud involving staff have not been concluded.
	Departmental Policy on prosecution in benefit fraud cases.
	For any cases of staff suspected of benefit fraud the decision maker would be at least a Deputy District Manager (Grade 7 or SMPB2) and they would decide whether or not to take any internal disciplinary action.
	The Department's policy on prosecution in relation to benefit fraud considers various factors. However, where the person involved was in a position of trust such as a member of staff, prosecution would always be considered.

Benefit Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the total amount of fraud by each category of benefit in (a) the latest year available and (b) 199697; and if he will make a statement on the Government's strategy to reduce benefit fraud.

Malcolm Wicks: Our estimates of levels of fraud and error in income support and jobseeker's allowance are published in the series of reports Fraud and Error in Claims for Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance which are placed in the Library.
	In April 2001 we also set up the housing benefit review which will deliver an on-going measurement of fraud and error in housing benefit. Fraud in other benefits is examined in our programme of National Benefit Reviews.
	Our current estimate is that 2 billion is lost annually through all benefit fraud. We do not break this figure into separate benefit categories nor hold figures for previous years.
	We are taking positive action to reduce fraud by making it harder to commit fraud, improving detection of fraud, and deterring those who might be thinking of committing fraud.
	We have made excellent progress in the fight against fraud and error. By March 2002 we had reduced fraud and error in income support and jobseeker's allowance by 24 per cent., significantly outperforming our target of 10 per cent.

Benefit Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 9 December 2002, Official Report, column135W, how many custodial and non-custodial punishments were imposed in (a) 200102, and (b) each of the previous three years, broken down by type of disposal; and in how many cases in each year the offender was ordered to pay compensation.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available. Pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member on 9 December 2002, Official Report, column 135W, corrected figures are shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Targeting Fraud Website (launched May 2000) 
			 Period Investigations completed Successful prosecutions 
		
		
			 May 2000 to March 2001 184 0 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 673 4 
			 April 2002 to December 2002 828 14 
		
	
	Source of information:
	Fraud Information By Sector system
	(71)
	
		National Benefit Fraud Hotline(73)
		
			 Period Investigations completed Successful prosecutions 
		
		
			 19992000 28,582 335 
			 200001 33,134 492 
			 200102 32,943 703 
			 AprilDecember 2002 25,081 546 
		
	
	Source of information:
	National Benefit Fraud Hotline
	(72) The fraud database shows completed cases commenced in the relevant period. Due to the elapsed time between commencement of an investigation and completion of a prosecution there are cases that are inserted into previously completed data for earlier periods. All totals are therefore correct at the time when quoted but subject to adjustment at a later date.
	(73) Full information on the number of investigations and successful prosecutions resulting from calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline is available only from April 1999.

Benefit Fraud

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many persons have been gaoled for benefit fraud since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		Custodial sentences(74)following investigations by Departmental Investigators
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199798 551 
			 199899 643 
			 19992000 636 
			 200001 653 
			 200102 646 
		
	
	(74) Imprisonment, Young Offenders Institute or custodial and fine.
	Source:
	Fraud Information By Sector and data from Counter-Fraud Investigation Division (Operations)
	(75)
	(76) The fraud database shows completed cases commenced in the relevant period. Due to the elapsed time between commencement of an investigation and completion of a prosecution there are cases that are inserted into previously completed data for earlier periods. All totals are therefore correct at the time when quoted but subject to adjustment at a later date.

Benefit Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the amount of benefit fraud in each year from 199091 to 200203 (estimated) (a) in total and (b) broken down by (i) housing benefit, (ii) council tax benefit, (iii) disability benefit, (iv) pensions and (v) jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Our most recent estimate is that 2 billion is lost annually through benefit fraud in Great Britain.
	We have in place systems to provide an on-going measurement of loss in the three main income-related benefits Income support, jobseeker's allowance and housing benefit that between them account for about two-thirds of the fraud loss. The levels of fraud and error in income support and jobseeker's allowance are published in the Area Benefit Review and the Quality Support Team reports on Fraud and Error in Claims for Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance, copies of which are in the Library. The first publication of findings from the housing benefit review is expected in autumn 2003. Our programme of National Benefit Reviews provides snapshot estimates of the level of fraud in other benefits, most recently covering incapacity benefit in 2000 and has been placed in the Library.

Employment Action Teams (Portsmouth)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what data on working age employment rates in each ward of the Portsmouth area informed the selection of wards for employment action team status; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  where peripatetic employment action team advisers are based in the Portsmouth area; how regularly they use these locations; if he will estimate the number of users at each location; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: Action Teams for Jobs focus on the most disadvantaged jobless people in the most employment deprived areas of the country. They target the wards within these areas which have the lowest overall employment rates and the highest rate of people claiming all benefits.
	There are no Action Teams for Jobs based in the Portsmouth area. However, through Jobcentre Plus, we offer a wide range of help for jobless people in the city. For example, the New Deals have helped almost 3,000 people in Portsmouth move from welfare into work. This has played an important part in increasing employment and reducing unemployment in the city. Since 1997, the working age employment rate has risen to over 75 per cent. and remains above the national average, claimant unemployment has been cut by 60 per cent., and the number of people unemployed for 12 months or more has fallen by 90 per cent.

Benefit Payment Methods

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Havant constituency have migrated from over-the-counter benefit payments to automated credit transfer in each of the last 12 months.

Ian McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. Information on migration from over the counter methods of payment to payment directly into a bank or building society account is not recorded monthly. A comparison of the limited data available at 25 January 2003 with the same records from 2 November 2002, indicates that just under 100 pensioners in the Havant constituency have migrated at least one benefit from payment at a post office to payment directly into a bank or building society account. These figures will be influenced by people moving away from or into the area during the period of the comparison.

Benefit Statistics

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men aged 55 to 64 and (b) women aged 55 to 59 who are not in full or part-time employment (i) receive one or more benefit and (ii) are not in receipt of any benefit.

Nick Brown: The available information is in the table.
	
		Estimated number of people not in work -- Thousand
		
			  Total(77) Benefit recipients(78) Non-recipients(78) 
		
		
			 Men aged 5564 1,100 900 300 
			 Women aged 5559 700 300 400 
		
	
	(77) Figures are from the LFSestimates have not been adjusted for the results of census 2001.
	(78) Figures are based on the proportions of those out of work and receiving benefits from the FRS, applied to the figures from the LFS.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
	2. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
	Sources:
	Labour Force Survey (LFS) Summer 2001 to Spring 2002.
	Family Resources Survey (FRS) 200102. Benefit-receipt is assessed at the individual level and includes all benefits in payment.

Burnt Oak Jobcentre

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the clients of Burnt Oak jobcentre live in Hendon constituency; what proportion of the total clientele of Burnt Oak jobcentre live in Hendon constituency; who was consulted about the jobcentre's proposed closure; in what way they were consulted; why the hon. Member for Hendon was not included in the consultation; when the jobcentre will close; why the hon. Member for Hendon was not informed of (a) the decision to close the jobcentre and (b) the date it was to be closed; if he will defer its closure to allow the hon. Member for Hendon to make representations; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, Clare Dodgson. She will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. Andrew Dismore, dated 27 March 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning Burnt Oak Jobcentre and the creation of Jobcentre Plus facilities in your constituency. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.
	As part of the rollout of Jobcentre Plus we are taking the opportunity to rationalise the estate previously occupied by the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. Burnt Oak Jobcentre did not have a customer base of jobseekers of its own but offered job broking facilities for people claiming benefits through Mill Hill Jobcentre and Wembley Jobcentre Plus as well as people already in employment.
	As part of the roll out of the full Jobcentre Plus service in Brent, Harrow  Hillingdon District, we examined alternative means to deliver our services rather than just through Jobcentres. These include Jobseeker Direct and the Jobcentre Plus website. We are also putting Jobpoints into Burnt Oak library and an outreach service at the local Careers Library. Employers will also be able to use the employer suite in Wembley Jobcentre Plus.
	We wrote to stakeholders, including local MPs, about the closure of Burnt Oak Jobcentre on 28 June 2002 asking for comments on the service delivery plan for Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon District by 19 July 2002. We wrote again confirming our plans on 17 September 2002. Burnt Oak Jobcentre closed on 21 March 2003.
	I hope this is helpful.

Child Support Agency

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what has been the cost to the Exchequer of the Child Support Agency in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: The figures are in the table.
	
		 million
		
			 Year Administration costs of the Child Support Agency  
		
		
			 199798 225.220 
			 199899 230.534 
			 19992000 260.333 
			 200001 250.046 
			 200102 285.468 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures are drawn from the Annual Reports and Accounts of the Child Support Agency for the years 199798 to 200102.
	2. The figures represent:
	For 199798 and 199899; the total operating costs for the year
	For 19992000 and 200101; the net operating costs
	For 200102; the net administration costs
	Costs increased by 26.8 per cent. between 199798 and 200102. By comparison, in the period from May 1997 to February 2002, the number of live cases with full maintenance assessments rose by 94.5 per cent. from 530,400 to 1,031,800.

Departmental Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money has been lost by his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies through (a) fraud and (b) theft in each year since 199697.

Malcolm Wicks: Information in the exact form requested is not available. Such information that is available is shown in the following two tables.
	(a) Fraud
	The following table is an extract from the Department for Work and Pensions Annual Fraud Return to HM Treasury. It shows losses due to confirmed internal fraud only.
	No information is available relating to internal fraud in non-departmental public bodies.
	
		Loss to public funds identified by investigations -- 
		
			  200102 200001 19992000 199899 199798 
		
		
			 Benefits Agency 208,823 44,309 389,874 430,780 918,790 
			 Employment Service 1,045,977 
			 Contributions Agency1,824 2,572 
			 War Pensions Agency  3,583 1,500 0 0 
			 Information Technology Services Agency   8,325 10,942 20,959 
			 Department of Social Security HQ   8,317 0 0 
			 Child Support Agency 4,111 9,200 8,950 418 57 
			 Departmental Directorates 620 14,019
			 Appeals Service 203 
			 Total Departmental Losses 1,259,734 71,111 416,966 443,964 942,378 
		
	
	(b) Theft:
	The following table, based on calendar years, is a summary of information already provided in response to earlier PQs.
	No information is available relating to theft in non-departmental public bodies.
	
		
		
			  2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 
		
		
			 Benefits Agency  24,700 2,900 24,400 26,300 39,900 
			 Employment Service  89,500 55,100
			 Contributions Agency7,100 12,900 13,100 
			 War Pensions Agency  160 0 7,000 1,200  
			 Information Technology Services Agency   6,500 23,400 16,200 4,600 
			 Department of Social Security HQ   21,100 60,500 57,700  
			 Child Support Agency 23,400 211,700 71,700 58,700 58,000 82,300 
			 Job Centre Plus 441,700  
			 Pensions Service 5,100  
			 Departmental Directorates 79,900 125,100 
			 Appeals Service 10,500 8,800 3,000
			 Total departmental losses 560,600 459,960 160,300 181,100 172,300 139,900 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Departmental Directorates were formed in 2000.
	2. Contributions Agency transferred to Inland Revenue from April 1999.
	3. Department of Social Security HQ was subsumed into Departmental Directorates in 2000.
	4. The Information Technology Services Agency (ITSA) ceased to be an executive agency in April 2000.
	5. 2001 and 2002 relate to the Department for Work and Pensions, previous years to Department of Social Security only.

Departmental Invoices

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the occasions on which (a) his Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 200102.

Ian McCartney: Information on the occasions where the Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the percentage of bills which were paid by the Department within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice was 93 per cent. for the financial year 200102. The average percentage of bills paid by my Department's agencies was 94 per cent. over the same period. There were no executive non-departmental public bodies in that year.

Departmental Phone Directory

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the most recent internal phone directory for the Department was published; how often it is updated; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Ian McCartney: The internal phone directory for the Department for Work and Pensions was last published on Wednesday 5 March 2003. It is published monthly. We are currently investigating data protection issues regarding future publication of the directory.

Departmental Running Costs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the running costs in 2002 were of (a) his Ministers private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff, and (b) his Department.

Ian McCartney: The Department accounts for its expenditure on the basis of a financial year ending 31 March. Figures for the financial year April 2002-March 2003 are therefore not yet available.

Departmental Website

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of his Department's website was in the last 12 months; and how many hits it received in the same period.

Ian McCartney: The total cost of the Department for Work and Pensions website over the last 12 months is not fully available. The site is maintained by an in-house team as part of their general duties, and we would be unable to break these costs down without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Web hosting and provision of web services is provided by the Department's IT contractor. However, internet services are not accounted for separately and it is not possible to disentangle the costs from overall IT services.
	Hits to the site between March 2002 and February 2003 total 65,407,012. The number of unique visitors was 883,754. The number of page impressions was 7,841,865.

External Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of external consultants was to his Department and its predecessors in each of the last four financial years for which figures are available, broken down by firm.

Ian McCartney: The information requested cannot be provided without incurring significant disproportionate cost.

Home Responsibilities Protection

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 24 March, Official Report, column 105W, on home responsibilities protection, in which year the special insert was placed in child benefit books.

Malcolm Wicks: The insert Information for Women with Reduced Liability for National Insurance Contributions was included in 1979.

Housing Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities have yet to implement an agreement with the post office not to redirect housing benefit payments.

Malcolm Wicks: 90 per cent. of all local authorities now use the Do Not Redirect scheme, which is helping to tackle fraudsters claiming from a false address.
	In the written answer given to the hon. Member on 2 May 2002, Official Report, column 982W, it was incorrectly stated, as a result of a clerical error, that 367 local authorities out of 408 were participating in the Do Not Redirect Scheme. The correct figure for the number of local authorities currently participating in the Do Not Redirect scheme is 366 out of 408.
	The 42 local authorities listed below currently have not entered into an agreement with Royal Mail Plc.
	
		
			  
		
		
			 Argyll and Bute Falkirk North Warwickshire 
			 Blaenau Gwent Fenland North West Leicester 
			 Bromley (LB) Gateshead Perthshire and Kinross 
			 Broxbourne Harborough Rugby 
			 Charnwood Inverclyde South Gloucester 
			 Dartford Isles of Scilly South Holland 
			 Daventry Kettering South Kesteven 
			 Dumfries and Galloway Maidstone Southwark (LB) 
			 East Dorset Malvern Hills Sutton (LB) 
			 East Dunbartonshire Mid-Devon Swindon 
			 East Hertfordshire Mid-Suffolk Wandsworth (LB) 
			 East Staffordshire Newport West Dunbartonshire 
			 Ellesmere Port North Norfolk West Somerset 
			 Exeter North Somerset Weymouth and Portland

Jobcentre Plus

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many employees have been given (a) an oral warning, (b) a written warning and (c) a final warning for contravening the guidance on dress codes for Jobcentre Plus employees since its introduction; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many employees reprimanded for contravening the guidance on dress codes for Jobcentre Plus are (a) frontline employees and (b) non frontline staff; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many employees reprimanded for contravening the guidance on dress codes for Jobcentre Plus are (a) former Benefits Agency employees and (b) Employment Service employees; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what legal advice he was given concerning the implications of the introduction of the new guidance on dress codes for Jobcentre Plus employees; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  if he will place a copy of the guidance on dress codes for Jobcentre Plus employees in the Library; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what consultation was held when drawing up the new guidance on dress codes for Jobcentre Plus employees; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Brown: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, Clare Dodgson. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Clare Dodgson to Paul Holmes, dated 31 March 2003
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your six questions concerning our dress standard. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.
	A copy of the Jobcentre Plus dress standard has been placed in the Library.
	Our dress standard requires all our staff to dress in a professional and business like way. It reflects our role as a gateway to the labour market for people of working age and in providing vacancy-filling services for employers. It is consistent with the approach adopted by many other service delivery organisations and is entirely appropriate for us as a highly visible public-facing service. It is also an important element in promoting a single, integrated culture within our organisationwhich was created from staff of the former Benefits Agency and Employment Service.
	Our records from July 2002 show that 47 staff have received oral warnings, of whom 21 went on to receive written warnings, and 10 went on to receive disciplinary penalties.
	You asked how many of these were from the former Benefits Agency and from the former Employment Service, and how many were frontline and non frontline employees. This information is not available, and to gather it would involve a disproportionate cost.
	At present there are 23 people failing to comply with the dress standard, out of the approximate 82,000 staff of Jobcentre Plus; around half of whom are claiming exemption on medical grounds.
	Consultation on the dress standard took place in the lead up to the introduction of integrated Pathfinder offices, which preceded Jobcentre Plus, and on the launch of Jobcentre Plus itself. The Public and Commercial Services Union was formally consulted and some of their comments were incorporated into the standard though, regrettably, we were unable to reach full agreement with them.
	In developing our dress standard, we took extensive legal advice which has led us to be firmly of the view that our dress policy is not discriminatory, is reasonable and does not contravene the Human Rights Act.
	I hope this is helpful.

Lister Group

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultations he has had with the liquidators of the Lister Group regarding the level of pension to be paid to former employees of the firm.

Ian McCartney: No consultations have been held with the liquidators of the Lister Group regarding the level of pensions to be paid to scheme members. But we are aware of the difficult situation faced by members of the Lister pension scheme, and I sympathise with their position.
	We are concerned about instances when the employer sponsoring a pension scheme becomes insolvent and the pension scheme winds up under-funded. We are aware of the impact this has, and we are determined to protect the long term security of pensioners and other scheme members in occupational pension schemes.
	That is why we have consulted on proposals in our Green Paper, 'Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and Saving for Retirement' (Cm5677), published on 17 December, aimed at improving protection for scheme members on wind up. This includes proposals to share out scheme assets more fairly, introduce a centralised clearing house or some form of insurance, remove the restrictions on the amount of compensation payable under the compensation scheme and strengthen protection for members whose solvent employer chooses to wind up its scheme.
	The Government want to ensure that when a scheme winds up, the assets are divided among scheme members as fairly as possible. Through the Green Paper we have consulted on:
	1. whether people who are approaching retirement age should be given a higher priority when scheme assets are distributed on wind-up, than at present;
	2. whether people who have been members of their pension scheme for a number of years should be given a higher priority; or
	3. whether there should be a fairer sharing of assets between those with larger and smaller pensions when a scheme winds up, possibly setting a cap on the level of pension that those with the highest pensions might receive, if there are limited assets available in the scheme.
	We are considering moving pension schemes up the order of priority for payment, possibly creating a new category of creditor, which would give pension schemes higher priority than at present.
	We have sought views on other approaches to dealing with under-funded defined benefit schemes that are wound up because their sponsoring employer becomes insolvent. Possibly:
	1. a form of insurance (perhaps a central discontinuance fund) that enables members to be more confident that, if their employer becomes insolvent with an under-funded pension scheme, they will receive the benefits promised; or
	2. a centralised arrangement or clearing house into which people whose employer became insolvent could pay the funds that they receive on wind-up. The clearing house would seek to buy the best available deferred annuity from an insurance company and should be able to negotiate better annuity rates.
	Insurance or a centralised clearing house might have advantages, providing better protection for scheme members where a company becomes insolvent and is forced to close its under-funded scheme. However, the costs would need to be balanced against the greater overall level of security offered.
	A compensation scheme already exists to provide compensation for losses caused by dishonesty where the employer is insolvent. Nonetheless, we are seeking views on removing the restrictions on the amount of compensation payable under the compensation scheme.
	Also, we are seeking views on changes to the debt on the employer provisions that might result in more funds being put into a scheme when a solvent employer chooses to wind it up.
	The consultation period ran until 28 March 2003.

Means-tested Benefits

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will update the table on the number of households claiming means-tested benefits set out on 28 February 2001, Official Report, column 697W, broken down by household type and the number of children.

Malcolm Wicks: Updated estimates for the number of families claiming income-related benefits are in the table.
	
		Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based), Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit recipients by family type, May 2001 -- Thousands
		
			  Income Support/Income-based JSA Housing Benefit Council Tax Benefit 
		
		
			 Single (no children) 2,932 2,247 2,704 
			 Couple (no children) 394 443 733 
			 Single parent (one child) 475 413 403 
			 Single parent (two children) 324 294 298 
			 Single parent (three or more children) 212 183 187 
			 Couple (one child) 102 98 120 
			 Couple (two children) 92 101 120 
			 Couple (three or more children) 99 96 109 
			 Total benefit units with at least one person receiving benefit 4,629 3,874 4,673 
			 Total number of adults in benefit units where at least one person is receiving benefit 5,316 4,611 5,756 
			 Total number of children in benefit units where at least one person is receiving benefit 2,507 2,278 2,393 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. IS/JSA numbers are based on per cent. sample. HB/CTB numbers are based on a 1 per cent. sample and are subject to a degree of sampling variation.
	2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
	3. Figures relate to benefit units and not households.
	4. A benefit unit may be a single person or a couple.
	5. Children are defined as children aged under 16 and young persons aged 16 to 18 in full-time education.
	6. HB figures exclude extended payment cases.
	7. CTB figures exclude Second Adult Rebates.
	8. The HB/CTB totals for Great Britain includes estimates for local authorities that have not responded. This estimate is based on historical and regional data. These types of estimates are standard practice in reporting totals where there have been non-respondents.
	9. There will be a significant overlap between the figures as most people receive both HB and CTB, and a significant proportion also receive IS or JSA.
	10. Single parents are defined as all claimants with dependants and without a partner.
	Sources:
	1. Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) Management Information Annual 1 per cent. sample inquiry, May 2001.
	2. Income Support (IS) Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, May 2001.
	3. Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, May 2001.

Medical Services

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 25 February 2003, Official Report, column 496W, on medical services, how many grade C medical reports were generated by random audits in each year since 1998; and how many have been judged to be fit for the purpose.

Nick Brown: A total of 134,144 cases have been randomly audited since 1 September 1998, of which 5,440 were found to be C grades, a proportion of 4.1 per cent.
	Random audit is carried out before reports are sent to decision makers and any audited report found not fit for purpose is corrected before being submitted to the decision maker.
	The figures for each year are:
	
		
			  Number of C grades 
		
		
			 September 1998 to August 1999 1,670 
			 September 1999 to August 2000 1,590 
			 September 2000 to August 2001 1,165 
			 September 2001 to August 2002 709 
			 September 2002 to February 2003 306 
		
	
	The information requested in relation to the number of C grade reports judged to be fit for purpose is not available. SchlumbergerSema Medical Services do not keep records of this information.

New Deal (Fraud)

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 20 March 2003, Official Report, columns 92526W, on fraud and the New Deal, 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the nature of the frauds committed by contractors in relation to the New Deal; and what steps his Department has taken to prevent such frauds;
	(2)  if he will list, in each year in which an estimated total loss was given in his answer, the cases in which fraud was found to have occurred, and the precise level of the fraud in each case.

Nick Brown: holding answer 27 March 2003
	Allegations made against contractors delivering New Deal programmes fall mainly into two broad categories: allegations that the claimed outcomes were fabricated or mis-stated, and allegations that the claimed training delivered was not in fact provided.
	New Deal providers are subject to thorough contractual and quality audits. These specifically consider the delivery of training against the requirements set out in the contract between Jobcentre Plus and providers. Contractual terms and conditions include appropriate clauses requiring parties to the contract to use all reasonable endeavours to safeguard Jobcentre Plus funding of the New Deal against fraud generally and, in particular fraud on the part of the provider's directors, employees or sub-contractors.
	The Department investigates all such allegations, of which some are false, some are true but caused through clerical or administrative error and others are caused by fraud.
	Where evidence of fraud is found, it is reported at the earliest opportunity to the police, who are responsible for any subsequent criminal law investigation. Some reported fraud is suspected to be corporate, but most cases are investigated as internal frauds by employees of the contractor.
	Since the Department's action following investigation is often a referral to outside bodies, such as the police, it is not possible to state the outcome of each case.

New Deal for Young People

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Northavon, on 26 February 2003, Official Report, column 609W, what assessment he has made of why the number of people leaving the New Deal for Young People for unknown destinations is growing; and what plans the Department has for increasing the information available about leavers.

Nick Brown: Jobcentre Plus and New Deal providers have mechanisms in place that aim to maximise information about the destinations of those leaving the programme and Jobcentre Plus is working to ensure that best practice is shared across different districts and providers.
	Later this year we are planning to conduct further research into people whose destination on leaving NDYP was unknown. Previous surveys of this kind have shown that the destinations of this group mirror that of people leaving to known destinations, with a large number of these young people entering sustained employment.
	However, individuals are not obliged to inform us of their destination on leaving the New Deal for Young People (NDYP) and following up all of these cases can be very time consuming. The priority is to provide the help and support that young people need to move into work. This may mean that less time has been spent following up and recording the destination of people after leaving NDYP.

New Deal for Young People

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of those on each option of the New Deal for Young People went into a sustained job in the East Riding of Yorkshire (a) since the scheme began broken down by year and (b) in the last quarter for which figures are available.

Nick Brown: In the latest quarter for which information is available (October to December 2002) 40 young people left the New Deal Options for unsubsidised, sustained jobs in the East Riding local authority area. This is 43 per cent. of all leavers from the Options in that period. Due to the small volumes involved, figures for individual New Deal Options for the latest quarter cannot be published because of the risk of identifying individuals.
	The information requested on the New Deal for Young People since the programme began is in the table.
	
		New Deal for Young people in the East Riding of Yorkshire
		
			 Option/year(79) Number of people entering unsubsidised, sustained employment(80) Number of leavers(80) Proportion of leavers entering unsubsidised, sustained employment (percentage)(81) 
		
		
			 Employment
			 1998 10 20 55 
			 1999 80 130 63 
			 2000 70 100 67 
			 2001 70 110 61 
			 2002 50 120 45 
			  Education and Training  
			 1998 10 10 38 
			 1999 60 160 39 
			 2000 70 190 37 
			 2001 50 130 40 
			 2002 40 110 37 
			 
			 Voluntary Sector
			 1998(82)
			 1999 30 70 47 
			 2000 20 80 25 
			 2001 20 40 49 
			 2002 20 50 45 
			 
			  Environment Task Force  
			 1998(82)
			 1999 30 80 41 
			 2000 20 60 34 
			 2001 30 70 35 
			 2002 30 60 48 
		
	
	(79) Years relate to January to December (except for 1998, which is April to December).
	(80) All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	(81) Proportions are based on unrounded figures and hence cannot be derived from the rounded figures used in the table.
	(82) Due to the small volume involved, the 1998 figures for the Voluntary Sector and the Environment Task Force Option cannot be published because of the risk of identifying individuals.

Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements are in place to credit pension payments paid into a bank account (a) weekly and (b) in advance rather than arrears; whether changes in method of payment are made only on request; and how such a request can be made.

Malcolm Wicks: Pensioners who are currently paid weekly in advance will continue to be paid this way after the move to Direct Payment.

Pensions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) funded and (b) unfunded public sector pension schemes for which his Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies are responsible; when the last actuarial valuation was of each scheme; what the value was of the assets at the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; what deficit is disclosed by the last actuarial valuation of each scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Department is not responsible for any funded or unfunded pension schemes in respect of its staff.

Pensions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will review the advice given to pensioners by the Pension Service on form BR2199(RP) in respect of hospital downrating.

Ian McCartney: There are no current plans to amend the advice on form BR2199(RP).

Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people of working age were not making second tier pension arrangements (a) in 1997 and (b) in the last year for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: In 1997, we estimate that 11.9 million working age people were not members of SERPS or making private pension arrangements. In 200102, this figure was 11.4 million. We estimate that state second pension, introduced from April 2002 will reduce the number to about 7 million. These figures have been estimated using the Family Resources Survey, 199798 and 200102.

Pensions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in approved personal pensions in each year since 1988; and what proportion of members were accruing no additional pension rights in each year.

Ian McCartney: Information is not available in the format requested. However, available estimates of the number of personal pension arrangements for employees are contained in the table. The estimates are based on administrative returns made to the Inland Revenue by personal pension providers and show the number of arrangements for employees which have received a contribution in the year.
	It is not possible to estimate how many individuals these relate to. Neither is it possible to say how many of those with only minimum contributions have made no further contributions to a private pension as, for example, an appropriate personal pension may have been used by an individual to contract out while a member of an employer's occupational scheme. Alternatively, the individual could have arrangements with other personal pension providers to which they are making contributions.
	
		Number of Personal Pension Arrangements for Employees -- Thousand
		
			  Total number of arrangements Number where a minimum contribution only has been received 
		
		
			 198990 5,000 2,450 
			 199091 6,250 2,750 
			 199192 7,300 3,050 
			 199293 8,100 3,050 
			 199394 8,050 2,900 
			 199495 8,700 3,070 
			 199596 8,570 3,020 
			 199697 8,530 2,960 
			 199798 9,150 2,930 
			 199899 9,630 2,950 
			 19992000 10,010 2,980 
			 200001 9,950 2,890 
		
	
	Due to the simplified regime introduced from April 2001 for personal and stakeholder pensions, estimates on a comparable basis are not available from 200102 onwards.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances pensioners who receive their pensions weekly in cash will be able to receive weekly payments if they opt to receive their pensions by automated credit transfer into a bank account.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) on 11 March 2003, Official Report,
	column 187W.

Post Office Card Accounts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements have been made to ensure that a Post Office card account holder who has nominated a named carer or home care worker is able to have their pension collected when the carer or home care worker changes unexpectedly.

Malcolm Wicks: Customers in these circumstances may find that the Post Office card account is not the most suitable account for them. However, if a customer finds themselves in this situation the customer can apply for a second card in the name of their new carer.

Post Office Card Accounts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the exception scheme for the post office card account will be in place; and what it will cover.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department have always recognised that there will be a small number of people who cannot manage to access their benefit or pension via an account, including the post office card account. An alternative method of payment will be used for this group and will be in place when it is required.

Post Office Card Accounts

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) retirement pensioners and (b) recipients of child benefit will be able to arrange weekly payments to a bank or Post Office card account from next month.

Malcolm Wicks: There will be no change to payment frequency following the move to Direct Payment for retirement pension and child benefit recipients. This means that those customers paid weekly now will continue to be paid weekly after the move to Direct Payment.

Strikes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many days have been lost in strikes in his Department, including local job centres and social security offices, in London in each year since 1996.

Nick Brown: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

Theft/Fraud

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in 2002.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department treats very seriously any instances of theft or fraud. In instances where a member of staff is proven to have committed fraud against the Department, disciplinary penalties, including dismissal, will be considered in addition to any criminal proceedings. The Department has put a number of measures in place to deter theft and fraud including working with property managers to make buildings more secure, internal fraud investigators actively operating in each government region, security specialists assessing internal security risk within a number of business units, awareness training for staff on internal security, a Whistleblowers hotline for staff to report instances of internal fraud, a portfolio of fact sheets on fraud and securty for staff and regular bulletins to middle managers on internal fraud matters.
	The following tables show the estimated cost of theft and fraud in Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies in the period April 2001 to March 2002. Information on nondepartmental public bodies is not available:
	
		Thefts in DWP, by Agency, April 2001 to March 2002
		
			 The approximate cost to the DWP of theft in 200102 Items Valued at () 
		
		
			 Department (Corporate Directorates and Services) (83) (83) 
			 Jobcentre Plus(84) 58 55,475 
			 Child Support Agency 14 13,037 
			 Appeals Service 8 6,675 
			 Health and Safety Executive 22 21,420 
			 Non-Departmental Public Bodies (85) (85) 
			 Total  96,607 
		
	
	(83) None reported
	(84) Including ex-BA and ex-ES
	(85) Not recorded by DWP
	
		Internal Fraud in DWP, by Agency, April 2001 to March 2002
		
			 The approximate cost to the DWP of InternalFraud in 200102  
		
		
			 Department (Corporate Directorates and Services) 620.20 
			 Ex-Benefits Agency 208,823.90 
			 Ex-Employment Service 1,045,977.40 
			 Child Support Agency 4,111.49 
			 Appeals Service 203.51 
			 Non-Departmental Public Bodies (86) 
			 Total 1,259,736.50 
		
	
	(86) Not recorded by DWP
	External Benefit Fraud
	The Department estimates that approximately 2 billion is lost through benefit fraud.

Winter Fuel Payments

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  for what reasons those who receive winter fuel payments in excess of their entitlement are not required to repay the money;
	(2)  how much money has been received during 200203 from voluntary repayments of excess winter fuel payments; and what the sum was in 200102.

Ian McCartney: In the vast majority of cases, the amount of winter fuel payment is determined by the information held by the Department, which is regularly updated. The winter fuel payment therefore reflects the person's circumstances as known to the Department in the qualifying week, which determines entitlement.
	There are a variety of reasons why payments are returned to the Department, including cases where entitlement is queried and change of address.
	We are currently unable to give a specific amount, which relates to voluntary excess repayments.